Loop: Zero
by DustyOldAttic
Summary: I wasn't expecting much from life as a D-Class, which left me oftentimes wondering about death. I expected some things and many things I didn't. I certainly didn't expect to wake up in my bed after SCP-173 killed me! Now it's up to me to survive the containment breach with my newfound powers. Too bad I was never any good at keeping out of danger... Follows the SCP:CB events.
1. Chapter 1

I wondered, not for the first time, what is it that I have done that warranted my stay here? A bleak cell in a dull white color with nothing but a toilet, a sink and with my fairly uncomfortable bed on the opposite side of the small room.

My thoughts turned to the uncomfortable bed I was currently resting in. I must have some inherent sense of what a comfortable bed once was in order to ascertain that this bed is an uncomfortable one – but the moment I try and grasp the memory, just like many others, it seems to slip away, as if it were never there in the first place.

In my many hours of idle time in the facility, I became aware relatively soon that I could not recall a lot of what must have been my cherished memories from the past and, with them, a big chunk of my own personal life seems to have evaporated into thin dust. I, however, will probably never be in the position to question any of this, no matter how much I might wish to or how much I might beg.

I am a D-Class personnel, after all. A criminal convict who is working off his crimes by participating in dangerous experiments they wouldn't have anyone else do, with details regarding the end of my sentence ominously absent. 'Them' being the SCP Foundation, a secret organization that amasses various anomalies found within the world and performs experiments geared towards understanding the anomalies, or rather, the SCPs, each designated with their very own number.

In a way, they're just as bad off as the D-Classes here, or at least the sentient ones are. We are going to be trapped in here forever, and even if we did manage to get out through some miracle, we would be hunted down and brought back. And good luck getting out of here in the first place.

Escaping this place is practically impossible, seeing as one would need to flee the whole wide facility full of trigger-happy soldiers and the locked doors which need varying levels of authorization, and that's not even mentioning the insane luck you'd need to have to navigate the utter maze this place really is and get out without any sort of foreknowledge of the way. It might technically be possible, but the chance is so statistically low it's basically impossible.

With these positive things in my mind, I rose completely from my bed and took in the sight of the familiar white room I was located in. Thank god I was not claustrophobic, otherwise this place would have been the death of me. I picked up the orientation leaflet from the table and gave it an idle skim.

D-9341... my official designation in the Foundation, not entirely unlike those previously used in concentration camps, both in naming patterns and treatment. In here, you had no name you valued except for the one they designated you as if you wanted to survive. I might have considered such a treatment degrading were it not for the absolute intolerance for any and all insubordination. To them, you were nothing better than a guinea pig, and would be just as disposable, but they'd probably find a way to make a guinea pig seem like more of a waste than you, I thought when I was in a particularly cynical mood one day.

Although, you weren't forced to work all day under terrible circumstances and a watery bowl of soup in four days like in a concentration camp, so there's that going for us. One might argue that it's offset with the experiments which might easily end in your death if they go wrong, though. D-Class get the privilege of participating in the particularly volatile ones.

The door suddenly slid open. A guard in a black and white military uniform with a military helmet that covered all of his features was standing there with a military weapon in his hands. Most likely not from the military, but I didn't care either way. The guards probably shove sticks up their asses every morning much the same way the military does.

"Hey. They've got some work for ya. Do me a favor, and step out of your cell." He said gruffly.

And so I did. I noticed another guard standing next to him that I couldn't see through the cell.

"Just follow me. Oh, and by the way, we're authorized to kill", he emphasized the last word, "any disobedient test subjects, so don't try anything stupid." He said before starting to walk away with me following after him, the other guard falling in line behind me.

I scoffed mentally. As if I were stupid enough to actually try anything overt and get myself killed. Honestly, I'm not quite sure as to why they needed two guards to handle a simple Class D, as even one of them could probably shoot me down faster than I could blink. What with the professionalism and the overall secrecy of this whole facility, I'm guessing that it isn't just my intuition that these guards are probably quite a bit more competent than your average guards. Probably got a bigger stick up their asses too.

As I was walking down the hallway between the guards, I heard beeping followed by an announcement. "Attention. Site. Director. Rosewood. Please report to: Administrations. Complex."

I made a mental note of the peculiar way the speaker seemed to take his time saying each word. Is it not more efficient to simply speak your message out instead of taking your sweet time pronouncing it? Sounds either like the guy is really dedicated to his job or there is a specific reason as to why he's doing that.

I spotted another guard, looking at us as we turned the corner to the left. The guard in front of me started speaking, presumably to his fellow guard behind me.

"Maan, I'm hungry. Hey, today's pizza day down at the cafeteria, right?" He asked casually. One might think he'd be working in a more peaceful environment and not with freaky sci-fi monsters.

"Eh..uh.. Actually, I think it's tuna cassarolle." He replied somewhat shyly. I decided, as I have never heard their voices and they seem to not be as professional as the other guards, that they must be new guys.

"Oh... God damn it! Now my day's ruined. The only reason I still come here is for the pizza. I don't know what it is about that pizza, but it's delicious." He said.

I might have overestimated these guards...

I spotted two other guards escorting a Class D in a hallway closed off by glass to the opposite of the hallway I was going through.

"Tuna cassarolle, on the other hand, is a disgusting abomination, and it should be locked up in here with the rest of these freaks." He continued speaking, distaste clear in his voice.

"Uh...Oh-kaaay.." The guard behind me answered, unsure as to how to react to the casual attitude of the guard in front of me.

I have definitely overestimated these guards...

I heard another beeping as we continued walking, scientists working at the tables below the hallway.

"Feeling tired, and overworked? Freshly brewed coffee is served in the cafeteria at all hours." Well... That was useless for me, but I'm sure someone in here appreciates the reminder.

The guard behind us stayed outside as me and the guard in front of me entered the room. He turned his head to me.

"Well, we're here. Kind of disappointed I didn't get to punch you in the face, but.. ah.. whatever."

"Oh... and by the way." He said, but didn't elaborate. I looked at him holding out a paper for me. I took it and saw that it was information about SCP-173. I quickly skimmed over the contents.

I glared at him mentally as I approached the containment chamber. I hope he gets that tuna cassarolle and chokes himself with it. I ogle the yellow sign next to the door leading up to the containment chamber. A picture of a statue looking backwards to the camera in a corner of a room is shown. The text says: SCP-173. Sentient and violent.

I gulp. Well, so much for having a stress-free day. Time to be a good D-Class and do whatever it is they wanted me to do so I could return to my cell all the faster.

I noticed two other Class D personnel as the chamber door began to open, with a guard stationed on top of the little balcony above us, most likely to make sure we're doing exactly what we're supposed to be doing from a safe distance. I stand in line next to them as the doors finish opening.

"Attention, all class D personnel. Please enter the containment chamber." Cue the exact thing I didn't want to hear. I focused on the room as I went in.

It wasn't a pleasant sight that greeted me. A lone room with puddles of – blood? - and, of course, the main star of the show. I gulped as I finally focused on the statue in the corner of the room. It's facing the wall in the upper left corner. I couldn't see its face from the angle.

If this were a normal statue, I'd probably find it slightly disconcerting, were I to see it somewhere else and had no clue of what it is.

As it stands, I'm scared shitless. This isn't just some random statue some weirdo made in his basement.

...Well, it might be. But the most important thing isn't even that it's alive...

I think it's the whole 'Blink and it moves faster than you can perceive to snap your neck' thing, really.

I hear gears behind me and I turn to see the doors completely shut off with a metal clang. ' _Shit_ ', I mentally summarized. I then remembered in just whose presence I was and whipped my head to look at the statue with newfound terror. Thankfully, my prisoner comrades seemed to have more common sense at me, as they kept their eyes trained on the statue.

"Blinking." The one to the far left stated.

"Gotcha." The one next to me said. He snapped his fingers in my face, causing me to blink in surprise.

"Keep your eye on the statue, rookie." He said firmly.

"Uh, sure." I said, and did what was asked of me. The guy ran both hands down his face and resumed looking at it.

"You new with Billy here, rookie?" I assume he's referring to me, but...

"Billy?" I asked. Is he talking about the-

"It's how some of us have taken to calling SCP-173 over here." He shrugged. "It's less of a mouthful." Then he turned his head to the other guy without losing sight of SC- screw it, he's Billy from now on. It really is a mouthful.

"Blinking." He said to him.

"Got it." He said. It's kinda ironic that two D-Classes were more professional than those guards earlier. Well, it's not their lives that are in danger right now.

The speaker blared up before I could say anything else. "Please approach SCP-173 for testing."

At the same time, I heard the the doors behind us open. Huh... that's strange. Was that supposed to happen?

"Uh... There seems to be a problem with the door control system. The doors aren't responding to our... uh..." Apparently not. I heard short blaring noises. "Attempts to close it, so, uh... Please maintain direct eye contact with SCP-173, then..."

* * *

Loop: ?

Much later on, the memory of what happened there still haunted me, even if the same scenario happened many times over. It must have something to do with it being the first time. I remember berating the man on the speakers in my head for his nonchalant way of speaking, ignorant of the horror I was about to experience.

Perhaps for the best, I didn't know that it didn't get any better from there on.

* * *

It all went to hell from here. I instinctively backed off as the lights completely turned off just as the blaring sound from before returned at full pitch, before the lights turned on again.

The sight that greeted me was one that left me muted in shock. The two prisoners who were just talking, being more professional than the guards outside and calling the statue Billy... were on the floor, their necks bent at unnatural angles. The one I was just talking with was looking directly in me. I could see his lifeless eyes. Bile rose up in my throat as I shivered, feeling the sensation of a million icy spiders crawl down my spine. SCP-173 was in my peripherals the whole time.

And it was staring right at me. I looked the statue in its cold, soulless eyes, indescribable dread and shock raging inside my body, before...

The lights turned off again.

/ Loop 1

I woke up screaming. I started thrashing wildly in my panic and, as a result, I felt myself fall and impact the ground. The shock of the impact caused me to come to my senses and stop screaming. I quickly disposed of the blanket which got wrapped around my head and try to find out where I was.

I was back in my room, no signs of anything out of the ordinary.

 _Just what the hell is going on here..?_

My breath was coming out in harsh pants.

Was.. was that all just a dream?

It couldn't have been! How could anything so vivid be just a dream?

Did I have a nightmare? Ironically, I haven't had those in quite some time, my dreams being mostly unrecognizable blurs that I forgot quickly.

I shook my head. Was I getting crazy or something...? It all felt so vivid and real... The nonchalance of the guards, the prisoners, that thing standing right in front of me...

I shuddered and laid on my bed, feeling sick to my stomach. Whatever nightmares I had before this one, they sure don't hold a candle to this one... I could've sworn it was real...

I shook my head once more before getting off the bed. Whatever it was, I'd be better off not worrying about it right-

The door suddenly slid open. A guard in a black and white military uniform with a military helmet that covered all of his features was standing there with a weapon in his hands.

Much the same way he had in my dream.

"Holy shit." I gasped, feeling lightheaded. This was too familiar for comfort...

The guard didn't seem to have noticed my reaction.

"Hey. They've got some work for ya. Do me a favor, and step out of your cell."

...Is this for real? I stood there with my eyes open wide, anxiety bubbling inside me and locking my muscles into place. That couldn't have been real...

Surely not?

The guard noticed my hesitation. "What're you, stupid or something? I said, step out of the cell. If you don't step out of the cell, I'm gonna kick your ass." He said, annoyed at my lack of reaction.

That alone - in his own words - kicked my ass into gear. I don't know what they do to disobedient test subjects, but I'm not itching to find out, traumatic experiences or not. I hurriedly stepped out of the cell, noticing the second guard once out of it.

Again, in much the same position as the one before.

"That's more like it. Now make sure to follow me. Oh, and in the case you didn't know, we're authorized to kill", he emphasized the last word, just the same way he did last time, "any disobedient test subjects, so make sure to not lag around like you did at the cell. And do anything stupid." He seemed to fumble over his own words here. "That is, don't do anything stupid. Just follow the rules and we don't have a reason to use you as a training dummy." Okay, this part was different. Maybe it was a dream after all?

I was in the middle of them much the same way as before though, my anxiety increasing with each step towards the familiar direction we were heading towards. If... that all truly happened, then now there should be some kind of announcement right around-

"Attention. Site. Director. Rosewood. Please report to: Administrations. Complex."

-now.

I took a deep breath, before exhaling it slowly. Cold dread made its way from my stomach to the rest of my body.

...It wasn't a dream? It actually happened..?

Every single aspect of it...?

I took another deep breath, trying to keep my self control. After a moment, against all odds, I exhaled the air slowly, in a controlled fashion, desperately trying to bring my mounting despair in control and think about the situation.

As it stands, it appears that I have either somehow managed to see into the future with my dreams in - very - vivid details, or enter my body from the future after dying. The mere thought of death made me shudder, but I kept my mind working. So far, the more realistic - _and how messed up is my life if those were the two 'realistic' options?_ \- option seems to be the second one, the more I think about it.

I recall my thoughts shortly after waking up. How it felt so real and vivid...

Is it a stretch to think it actually was, in my current situation?

Well, I know for one that I wasn't going to sit idle and let myself die, crazy theories or not. This is a golden opportunity for me! With my newfound power, I shall fight to the bitter end in order to preserve that which is mine! My life! My hopes and drea-

My inner monologue was shattered as the guard in front of me started speaking.

"Maan, I'm hungry. Hey, today's pizza day down at the cafeteria, right?" Do you mind!? I was having a moment here!

"Eh..uh.. Actually, I think it's tuna cassarolle." The shy guard behind me answered once again. Or is it that this is the first time that he's answered, and I'm the one hearing it twice..?

"Oh.. God damn it! Now my day's ruined. The only reason I still come here is for the pizza. I don't know what it is about that pizza, but it's delicious." Now that I think about it...

Does this guy works here only for the pizza? That is a really weird life choice.

Well - Not that I'm in any position to judge, given my current situation...

I looked over to see the same guards escorting much the same Class D on the other side.

"Tuna cassarolle, on the other hand, is a disgusting abomination, and it should be locked up in here with the rest of these freaks."

How should I approach this situation? If I don't go in the chamber, the guard on the upper floor is most definitely going to shoot me...

Wait, didn't the door malfunction shortly before the lights went off? That might be my chance!

"Uh...Oh-kaaay.."

But how did I return to my room, anyways..? I shook my head and focused on my surroundings once again.

I looked at the scientists downstairs, all engrossed in their work. I heard a beep.

"Feeling tired, and overworked? Freshly brewed coffee is served in the cafeteria at all hours."

The same message played. The guard behind me stays as the one in front turns to me in the room.

"Well, we're here. Kind of disappointed I didn't get to punch you in the face, but.. ah.. whatever. Oh, and by the way..."

I took the leaflet and made a show of skimming over it.

Then I walked in the room, looking at the poster once again. Sentient and violent... It really does paint a different picture once you've lived through it. I walked through the door and stood in front of the containment chamber.

...And cue the terror welling up in my guts. What if, no matter what happens, I end up dying here and returning to my bed, only to march into my own death, over and over again..?

I shiver, before realizing that I've been standing around too much and not moving to the other prisoners. I hurriedly catch up to them just as the containment chamber doors finish opening.

"Attention, all class D personnel. Please enter the containment chamber."

If that is my fate... then I will change it! I won't allow myself to die here.

With firm resolve, and not an insignificant amount of terror, I stepped into the chamber.

* * *

 **AN:**

 **And that's the first chapter.**

 **Just as a warning to you guys, this is my first serious attempt at writing a story and it may or may not include random quality spikes, varying chapter lengths and/or infrequent update schedules. My main goal is doing weekly updates but since I'm not an experienced writer (This little gem of a chapter was sitting for a few months, forgotten) I will need to experiment a bit on how much I should write each day in order to have a decent chapter out next Saturday. Since I'm aiming to improve, I'm gonna try and force the chapters out, even if I'm unsatisfied with them. Another thing to consider is that this will most likely not be 100% lore accurate, as I've been away from the game for a few months and don't remember as much, so please notify me if I've missed any important. That being said, I do plan to take my liberty with the story and include my own elements as I see fit, all with the purpose of making the story better and more enjoyable, of course. For now, though, I'll keep the story canon.**

 **As for the story itself, it's gonna be a narrative of the SCP:CB experience, taking the ideas gathered from "Who is D-9341?" from TheBatesee on youtube (Ideas which are canon, a developer basically confirmed it in the comments) and turning it into a story.**

 **In short, it's gonna be a time-traveling loop-when-you-die story following the gameplay of SCP:CB with serious and (hopefully) comedic moments, focusing on many of the aspects of the gameplay (Most of which will likely be interactions with SCPs and subsequent gruesome deaths), character development and more, eventually ending in a crescendo of angelic choirs as the main character rides away on SCP-682 with his harem army of Teddy Bear-Chans, all trying their best to capture the heart of dopey D-9341 as the facility behind them explodes, directed by Michael Bay.**

 **I kid, I kid.**

 **But hey, omake idea for the end of the story, hmmm?**

 **Author notes are also going to be much smaller.**

 **Next Chapter: 11th August, 2018**


	2. Chapter 2 - Where it all begins

**AN: Since I had it done a day before, I thought, might as well upload it now. No reason to wait a day.**

 **So here's a light chapter for you. Not much going on here, just a normal chapter with our main character familiarizing himself with the new environment.**

* * *

Just as before, SCP-173 was in the corner, with the two D-Class looking at it.

They were alive. For a brief moment I contemplated trying to save them before discarding the idea. There's no way they would listen to some random D-Class telling them they were going to die and that they need to do exactly as he said. I certainly wouldn't listen.

Besides, I had to worry about saving my own skin in the first place.

The doors shut behind me with the same metallic clang. I kept my eyes fixed on the statue.

"Blinking." The leftmost guy said.

"Also blinking." I added. I blinked after a short moment and a brief pang of terror. I don't think that I'll ever keep my eyes away from SCP-173 after what I've gone through.

"Gotcha." The D-Class to my left said. "You seem experienced with Billy. You been here before?" He asked, before stopping for a short moment. "Blinking." He said, and ran his hands down his face the same way he did previously.

"You could say that." I responded. A sudden thought struck me as odd. Why name it Billy of all things?

I asked.

The guy hummed. "Billy? That's just how we call-"

"Yeah, I already know that. But why Billy of all things?"

The guy paused for a second.

"Well," He started, "I sure wasn't the one to name it but here's how I see it."

"Calling it by its official classification, apart from being a drag to pronounce, personally leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Giving it a nickname makes it seem more human in my head, or whatever. I guess you could call it a coping mechanism. I feel a lot less afraid of a Billy than an SCP-173, personally, even if they're names for the same thing."

That... both did and didn't make any sense. Using nicknames to humanize unknown entities in order to gain an illusion of controlling the situation? It doesn't exactly remove the danger or make the reality any less different. Well, a fake peace of mind is a peace of mind nonetheless.

It seemed as good a reason as any. Billy, huh... I'll have to get used to that.

The speaker turned on. "Please approach SCP-173 for testing." And the doors opened once again.

Guess it's my time to move. I sent a mental apology to the two as I slowly, but surely, started to back away from them, inching towards the door.

"Uh... There seems to be a problem with the door control system. The doors aren't responding to our... uh..." With a deep breath, I exited the containment chamber, and looked up to the guard.

He had his gun set on me. "Hey! Did you think you could just walk out? Get back in there!"

I didn't comply. I started moving back towards the door.

"This is your last warning! Get back in the containment chamber!"

"Attempts to close it, so, uh... Please maintain direct eye contact with SCP-173, then..."

At that moment, the lights cut off and I sprinted to the corner, hiding behind it. When the light returned, I peeked out in order to see SC- Billy having killed the two D-Classes. _I'm sorry..._

I quietly backed away, hoping for Billy not to see me. If I made a run for it towards the door, I risk catching its attention, and I don't even know how long the second blackout is.

This is when I died last time. Let's see how it goes this time.

Not a moment too soon, the lights turned off again. I heard scraping noises and, in a flash, the lights were up again.

And then there was gunfire above me. I instinctively ducked, even though I couldn't see what was going on, but I could hear a loud curse from where I presumed the guard was at.

Then the lights turned off again.

From this point on, all I could really hear was blaring noises from the facility itself. But that wasn't my biggest issue as of right now.

The lights all shined a fraction of what they used to before, too dim to light up the room properly. Looking through the door I could see the same effect there. It was just short from total darkness, the kind of scenery you'd normally see in a horror movie.

 _Since when did my life become a horror flick?_ , I pondered as I finally made my way through the door, not hearing nor seeing signs of Billy activity around here. It seems he's moved on to the control room.

How incredibly lucky for me, since it meant I could move unnoticed.

And this brought an interesting thought as well. A most interesting thought indeed. If this was truly a facility-wide blackout...

Then they probably wouldn't notice a lone Class D escape during the whole chaos, now would they?

It was worth a shot, anyways. Such an opportunity would likely never come up again.

I made my way through the door and immediately spotted the open door leading to the bottom floor, where I saw the scientists working. It seems there were guards there as well now with the other personnel.

I prayed to whatever being was listening that the door I came through with the other guards would be open at the end of the hallway. I sneaked my way there and saw that it was closed. I tried tampering with the controls a little, but quickly realized that it was futile. The door was locked and it was staying that way.

Which meant my only escape would be through the room underneath, where literally everyone was right now. Just as I sneaked back to the door and peeked down, the lights shut off. I felt a brief flash of terror before the lights turned on again, and I struggled to control my breath as I saw SC- Billy exit the door underneath, conveniently sitting between me and the rest of the room. Suddenly I wouldn't mind being discovered by them so much. If it sees me I'm screwed no matter what.

Luckily it was not to be. There was a lot of commotion down there, everyone speaking at once. I didn't dare too look out of fear that it would see me.

 _But what if it's going your way now?_ , my mind supplied as the lights turned off again.

There were gunshots fired, and I heard a voice shout. "Move back! Go to the door!" Before the lights flickered again under the crescendo of rushing footsteps. All too soon, the noise ceased, leaving a dark and ominous atmosphere behind.

I dared to look down, and I saw that both the people and Billy were gone. It was too dark to see where through, though. I would need to go down there too if I wanted to escape.

I took a deep breath, and slowly moved down the stairs, eyes trained on as much of the room as possible. The last thing I wanted was find out Billy was in the room and I didn't notice. After getting into the room, I finally let out a sigh of relief. It turns out the room was empty after all. Another stroke of luck.

 _Though it only takes one stroke of bad luck and I'm toast._

Does it, though? How does my apparent pseudo-immortality work, either way? Is there a specific amount of lives I have? Was it a one-off thing and this was my last life? Whatever the case may be, I wasn't eager to find out.

That got me to think about something else, though. Since this **is** a facility-wide blackout, or whatever it is... and Billy has been let out of his containment chamber...

Doesn't that mean that other dangerous SCPs are most likely out and about as well?

Oh. Oh crap. This is no ordinary blackout.

This is a containment breach.

The familiar dread rose up within me once more. That makes a lot of sense, actually. My legs suddenly felt very weak, and I quickly propped myself on a chair before giving up and dropping on it, legs quickly giving out. I felt lightheaded. I took the moment to recover from my momentary stupor, before getting a grip on myself. I won't need to worry about other SCPs if Billy catches me first. I'd best not linger in one place too long, especially one that's basically a dead end.

That last thought spurred me to action. I got up from the chair and was about to make my way towards the door, before I noticed the huge chunk of musky black material in the floor. The table seemed to be completely missing while a chair was flipped around.

This looks like the work of another SCP, and one nearby. Great.

I started moving towards the door, content with my observations, before I hesitated, feeling an otherworldly tingling spread from my shoulders to my back, before a powerful feeling rose in my chest.

Hope. Excitement.

Hope because I had a chance to escape this hellhole. So many people didn't. I had control over my own fate now, and I would make the best out of it. The excitement is a bit harder to explain. It feels familiar, nostalgic even... It was a daredevil-ish drive for knowledge of the unknown, an almost carnal desire to understand everything around oneself, once muted with the boring expanse of daily prison life, but now rekindled.

How can Billy move so fast? What is his average speed per blink, and what are the best strategies to counter it? How did the breach happen? Was it an intentional sabotage?

What different SCPs are stored in this facility? Are there ones I could use to my advantage?

And like an old machine being turned on again after a long rest, my mind started whirring once more.

I opened the door.

The moment I stepped into the room, a bestial roar could be heard across the whole facility. I think I handled it rather maturely, by screaming and sprinting back inside the room and closing the door, breathing excessively as I felt my life flash before my eyes.

Well, that's one theory confirmed. The facility seems to have become quite the playground for all your local SCPs. Hopefully I would never encounter that thing, yet something tells me that I'm going to have plenty other things to worry about.

Slowly, deliberately, I opened the door once more. No demonic roars of rage followed, so I guess that meant I wasn't cursed. That was fine.

There were two doors at the sides, the left one being opened and presumably where all the people went to, along with Billy.

Naturally, I turned to the right door.

/*/

After around 30 minutes of exploring the empty facility, the feeling of dread I had before was replaced with irritation. Just how do the people manage to find themselves in this place? I was here probably three times already, as evidenced by the plethora of open doors I went through that let me keep track of where I was and where I wasn't.

Quite the smart idea, if I said so myself.

There was so far no sign of any distinguished rooms that didn't need authorization to enter, except one corridor where I managed to snag a gas mask. I lost myself quickly afterwards, and saw that I ended up at the beginning.

I also, luckily enough, encountered no SCPs in the process. Who knows, I might even be able to escape this place without encountering any SCPs at all!

I was finally starting to make some progress. As I opened another door for the thousandth time, I saw a hallway which was different than the others. Apart from a door leading to other areas on the opposite side, there was a room, but my pondering was cut short by a sudden feeling of anxiety. It felt as if I was missing something important.

It felt like I messed up, and I was going to pay the price soon.

The indescribable feeling filled me with dread, but for the life of me I couldn't understand why. I thought I heard something, but I chose to ignore it in favor of the current situation. I started to make my way to the end of the corridor, where the two doors lay next to each other. A picture was on the wall next to the door to the left, and a skull was on it.

I was about to go closer, were it not for that same noise, only louder. It sounded almost like... was someone moving concrete somewhere?

And my instincts were screaming at me. That previous feeling of fear came back with full force, apparently directed at nothing. It was honestly starting to get irritating, past all the anxiety. I couldn't be that much of a scaredy cat now, to jump at nothing?

I thought I heard something behind me, but it was probably my paranoia. Maybe if I satisfy it, it will go away?

"Worth a shot." I turned myself idly, only so much so I could see behind me and hopefully lay my rampant paranoia to rest. So far, I was expecting it to be... harder? Trying to escape, I mean. But the only real issue I've discovered so far was- I turned completely and my train of thought crashed and burned instantly.

Billy was directly behind me. His arms stretched out and almost touching my neck.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed and, through a mixture of instincts and terror, started running towards the door. I immediately realized my mistake, but I already turned my head away from Billy.

Just enough to not be able to see him.

Class D-9341's neck snapped under the force of SCP-173's stubby arms, bringing the human's life to an immediate end. He was dead long before he impacted the ground.

/ Loop 2

This time I didn't scream, but I did convulse suddenly and ended up falling to the floor regardless. At least I didn't bring the blanket down with me this time.

I picked myself up and laid down on the bed, contemplating the latest scenario past the adrenaline, which was slowly dying down now that there wasn't any danger present.

So Billy managed to sneak up on me and I, in my panic, tried to do the usually most sensible thing in a situation where there was a predator behind you. Run.

Apart from that, I've come to the realization that Billy is more silent than I expected him to be, although I probably did hear him. Was that why I was so paranoid?

And another problem pops up there as well. If Billy is able to get so close to me in so short a time, how will I be able to escape him? Since the doors are always open-

Wait a second...

Oh. I facepalmed. Of course that's it! By keeping the doors open, I allowed Billy not only free reign of the facility, but I might as well have put a blaring red neon sign saying 'Hey! I'm a human, running around the facility and keeping the doors open! You better come find me!'

Which means that I'll need to start closing the doors behind me. And that means I'm gonna lost again. Crap.

Well... considering the long-term picture, wouldn't it be better if I simply memorized the layout of the place? After all, when I probably die again, I'll know my way around for the next time.

And that was a wholly different can of worms that got opened. It seems that my first death was not a one off thing, and, as far as I can tell, this trend is likely to continue. I might even be able to use my pseudo immortality to aid my escaping for the next time.

After all, I'm not in a rush.

And then I just laid on my bed, waiting for the guards to come in. I knew I was in for a lot of work, so I wanted to preserve my mental energy as much as I could.

Without the busy thoughts I usually had, I managed to hear a dim voice speaking. "Hey, could you open cell door -?"

...Huh. Was that always there? Did the guy always say that?

The door opened, and I tuned out the rest, already knowing what was going to happen.

/*/

This time, I felt brave enough to watch Billy as he approached the fleeing personnel from the relative safety of the upper hallway. A few blackouts later, the room was empty once more.

This time, I checked the whole room for useful things I might use. There didn't really end up being anything useful there, some random documents and a desk lamp I briefly contemplated bringing along with me to use as a whacking tool, but abandoned the idea as soon as it became clear that it was fastened onto the table.

Somewhere around the end of my little scavenging tour, I heard the same roar, though it was muted. Past a brief startle, I mostly payed it no mind.

I went on to explore the facility once more.

/*/

I followed the route I followed before, to a partial success. I managed to recover the gas mask, but I didn't manage to find the room with the skull on it.

Instead, I found people.

They were speaking on the lower floor, and I was about to announce my presence and go through the open door when the lights turned off again.

I heard the familiar sound of necks snapping. I felt a quick pang of terror and started to walk backwards, but otherwise keeping my eyes in the direction of the noises. Billy won't catch me off guard this time!

The lights turned on.

Nothing was in front of me. I kept my eyes open, fighting against the urge to blink as I looked through the door. Two people were dead on the floor, Billy between their corpses.

Anger surged within me. If I were faster, I could have warned them. If anything... I know for next time.

I would be faster next time.

For now, though, I contented with closing the door connected to Billy, as my eyes were starting to burn. The door closed, and I blinked.

The door opened a moment later. Billy was behind it.

"Oh shit..." He can open doors!?

Of course he can. As long as he can push the button, why would it be a problem?

"Hmm..." I closed the door and blinked fast once it was closed. Immediately afterwards, the door opened.

...This had potential.

"You must really want to get to me, huh?" I said, and closed the door again.

It opened again.

"How about this?" I said, and closed the door.

I waited until it opened again and I was facing Billy that I continued.

"I'll stop closing the door on you if you'll wait for me to make my way out of the room, ok?" I stood for a moment there, before shrugging and closing the door.

The door remained closed. This is most interesting. Does it mean it's sentient?

I started to make my way towards the door, not trusting the thing and made my way towards the door I came in.

Billy opened the door. I opened the door once I reached it. I stepped inside, closed it, then turned to sprint to the door opposite to me, keeping my ears out for the door behind me. It seems Billy was slower, but I definitely heard the door opening just as I closed my door.

/*/

We continued this until I finally lost Billy, who likely took a different door.

I passed an elevator with a dead body along the way, and a few rooms with SCP tags I didn't bother to read.

I was in one of the circular rooms, taking a breather.

"Not... even close."

Yeah.

At that moment, a desecrated body fell to the ground.

"AHH!" I jumped and was about to run if I didn't notice the thoroughly dead body in front of me.

 _It might be an SCP..._

I doubted it. This looked more like the victim of an SCP than anything else. He looked to be a scientist, disregarding the unnatural decay on his face and clothes. He fell from the ceiling, where there was the same type of decay or blight that consumed the tables in that one room I used to access the facility.

I felt a pang of empathy for him, but there wasn't anything I could do for him right now.

I turned to leave the room after checking him for valuables.

I continued onward until I ended up in a room that appeared to be at the corner of the facility, because there were no further doors heading in the direction. There was a second elevator, however.

This was good. The elevator might lead somewhere to the roof, and it would definitely separate me from Billy. If the elevator worked. I stepped inside it, then pressed the button.

The elevator doors closed. I grinned.

Such a great idea.

Well, I thought as the elevator started going down, so much for an easy escape. Although maybe there is a sewage system I could go through to escape? It would be dirty, but likely far better than most things I'd encounter in the facility anyways.

The elevator stopped, and the doors opened. I was met with a dark room filled with what looked to be boxes. So, not an area where I can escape, but something possibly just as good. A storage room.

I stepped cautiously to one of the crates and was about to inspect it, were it not for a noise I heard. It was an elderly man's voice.

"H-Hey! Is anyone in here? I can't see a thing!" My heart stopped. There was another person here. For some reason, that didn't make me feel any easier. Memories emerged from before. Two people, dead because of Billy.

I made my mind up. I started to make my way towards the person who no doubt went here for refuge but ended up losing themselves. They were close to the exit though. That makes it easier.

"Hey!" I raised my voice.

There was silence for a moment too long. Perhaps the man didn't hear me?

"I can't see a thing!" The man repeated. The voice was a bit closer, though.

Close enough for me to go and lead him out of here. I followed the voice through the darkness, coming to the end of the boxes and turning to look past them, where I presumed the man was.

A large reptilian with translucent red skin stood in front of me. Its jaws and teeth glowed a bloody red in the dark, making it look all the more terrifying.

I didn't have time to stand around in terror as the beast started running towards me. My instincts flared up and I was sprinting in the other direction, suffering a nasty blow to the head from a pipe which I, in my terror, failed to avoid. Adrenaline kept me focused and running as fast as possible, but I could hear the predator running behind me.

"Ah, there you are." I heard the elderly voice from behind me, catching up. I ignored the pang of terror that rose up within me at the familiar voice as I sprinted ever closer towards the elevator.

Once I was inside I immediately slammed the button of the elevator, praying fervently to whoever was listening that I was fast enough. I turned around to look at one the single most terrifying thing one could see.

\- **As it turned out, the sentiment was false and there were many more equally terrifying scenarios awaiting me in the future. -**

The beast was running as fast as it could towards me catching up. Its jaws were spread open and it was growling in an otherworldly, eldritch noise that didn't sound like it belonged on anything sane or normal. It also seemed like the elevator door wouldn't close in time, but as the beast closed the distance, the incredibly slow doors closed _just_ at the right time - There was a mighty pang as the elevator doors were smashed against by the demonic creature.

The elevator started moving upwards.

I fell to the ground, exhaling a massive sigh of relief.

That... was terrifying. And now that I wasn't running for my life, I could properly focus on the migraine that was building up from the left side of my head and spreading. It hurt to have my eyes open. So I closed them.

Just in case, I was going to open them when the elevator doors opened. Before, I wouldn't have done such a paranoid thing, but if there was anything I learned right now, it's that you do **not** take chances in this place if you want to survive.

That meant that I needed to get up as well.

I groaned, before slowly, painstakingly got up into a standing position. My head was throbbing wildly. It felt as if a circus monkey was told that he'd get as many bananas as he wanted if he played the drums on my brain as hard as possible.

Regardless, I felt somewhat relieved as the elevator stopped and the doors started to open. Now the danger was most likely over with and I could take a brief moment to rest. While I wasn't going to risk my eyes closed, the chance of Billy _actually_ being in front of the door would be just-

And the doors opened...

.

.

.

"Oh, son of a bitch! You have **got** to be kidding me!"

I wasn't believing my luck, or lack of it at the moment, but I sure as hell wasn't going to clear my eyes and look again to see if what I was seeing was true.

Billy stood in front of the door, and my head waspounding.

/**Need refreshments? Don't forget to take a 5 minute break for every 30 minutes you read!**/

I couldn't stay here for long; With my headache getting ever stronger and my eyes already burning, I had to move.

At the time, I didn't realize that I would be applying what was, in hindsight, a laughably simple but very effective solution to dealing with Billy, trivializing its influence marginally in the future for me.

I walked past him.

I kept my eyes sharp on him even as my eyes started to water and the urge to blink almost overwhelming. I made my way to the door and opened it, but I couldn't hold it any longer.

I blinked and Billy was directly in front of me. He was also blocking the entrance by standing directly in the door, which removed the possibility of walking past him again or closing the door.

I started moving fast once again, and the chase was on again.

/*/

It was _much_ harder to lose him now than it was before. I think it took twice as long too.

Honestly, I was impressed that I managed to lose him, what with my staggering and migraine, which somehow got even worse in the time, but as I was making my way to the other room, I saw that Billy didn't open the door after me, which meant he must have thought I went the other way.

I went through a few more rooms before allowing myself to relax. I was panting and my migraine pounded as hard as ever, but I could finally get a breather.

Finally, a chance to res-

An unnatural noise filled the room from the center. I turned to look at a slowly blackening floor with abject horror and, I realized rather anticlimactically, a fair bit of exasperation.

It was the same kind of black and corrosive hole as the one from the ceiling. Namely, the ceiling from which a

And a black man was rising from it.

 _Literally_ black man. As in, completely black. I noted, with terror, that it looked like a heavily atrophied naked corpse.

I was shocked into a stupor, feeling far too tired for the running I would need to force myself through.

"Are you serious!? I _just_ finished running! This- This is insane." The _thing_ , to my absolute horror, reacted to my words. As it completely emerged from the floor, it just stood there, and tilted its head in response to my words.

Then it grinned.

I gagged at the expression. It was morbid and twisted, yet sharpened with human intellect. It looked like it was the predator, and I was the prey.

I was as alert as my exhausted state allowed me, though I wasn't moving yet.

It wasn't moving yet as either. It seemed to be contemplating me.

I took a tentative step backwards.

And then it started walking towards me. That was the cue I needed to turn tail and start running once again, both brain and body running on fumes. I closed the door behind it, but to my absolute horror, he simply walked through it, causing the door to get infected with the caustic material, destroying the door and leaving a hole in the door.

A big enough hole for Billy to fit through.

"Oh, SON OF A BITCH!" At this point, I started walking fast because I felt too tired for running.

My eyesight was getting blurry, and I must have lost focus because I felt a sudden sharp pain in my lower abdomen. Damn. It must have caught up to me. Oh God, the pain was unbearable.

Then something unexpected happened.

I was pulled through the floor.

/*/

When I came to my senses, I wasn't dead like I was expecting to be, although I wasn't feeling that much better.

As I looked around me, I had a stray thought that I was in hell. The whole environment seemed to be made out of a similar material that the... whatever its name is made out of, and there were hallways branching out in all directions.

I looked around dazedly, hoping to find an indicator of which way I was supposed to go. Against all odds, luck was with me, and I saw a piece of paper on the ground. I stumbled along and picked the paper up.

It seemed to be a change of codes for one Dr. Maynard's office. The number wasn't charred out.

Four-two-five-eight was the combo. I didn't know if this would be relevant for me in the future, but I took the time to memorize the sequence. Perhaps it would do me good one day. I spared a thought for Maynard, who likely got killed by... ah, screw it, I need a nickname for the old naked man.

...Old Man works, now that I think about it. I'd rather not think about his lack of clothes every time I'm thinking about him, so Old Man it is.

Now that I think about it, though... That scientist that fell through the ceiling...

Was that Maynard?

Shouts out to you, Maynard. You died but you probably served a higher purpose in your life.

You were probably a good person. Probably.

I continued down the path, even though I knew I wasn't getting out alive. Even if there might have been a way out of this place, I doubt I'd have been able to reach it in my current strength. Even now, I could feel my strength getting sapped away second by second.

Eldritch laughter resonated against the walls. The Old Man's. That didn't sound good.

As I continued, I found myself on a narrow road where it was very easy to fall down into the abyss, and to make it all the better, a piece of rock was floating along the road, likely to pick off anyone who tried to go through, but still giving them a chance.

I slowly trekked towards it. I stopped when it almost hit my face and, the moment it left, I started going as fast as I could. Which was still slower than the fast walking that got me in this dimension in the first place.

I managed it in just the time, as I felt the rock brush slightly against my back. Phew. Now let's just try and balance ourselves and everything should be fine-

There were more rocks. Of course there were.

Or was there just one? Against my will, I turned around and tried watching its pattern. It seemed as if the rock was moving in a peculiar shape, cutting off yet another path out of my sight if I understood the pattern correctly.

I started moving again. This time, the jagged rock scratched its surface on my back. I honestly thought I wasn't going to make it, and in a twisted, morbid way, I was looking forward to falling down and dying.

I just wanted to sleep now.

I made my way to the last part where the rock flew, before stopping in front of it again. My energy was growing ever dimmer, and I could just end it here... It was so tempting.

I mustered all of my strength and, after the rock went away, started moving forwards. I staggered halfway through, my legs buckling under the pressure, but I pressed even harder on, knowing that to stop now was to accept death.

I was never the type to give up, really. It's an attitude that got me in trouble every once in a while when I was a kid.

This time, I managed to get past the rock without it touching me, but that was about all the strength I had. My feet buckled and I fell on the bridge, robbed of all energy in the legs.

The hallway continued onward just a few meters away from me, I could tell with my blurring eyesight. It would be oh so easy to give up - To succumb to the burning pain permeating throughout my whole body, to the exhaustion and through the migraine.

I started crawling with my hands. It took a massive amount of willpower but I was getting closer to that alleyway, inch by inch. If I die here, I'll at least have made it past this obstacle.

I heard laughter resonate through the dimension from the Old Man, though it sounded a bit different. Morbid, yet it had a certain light quality that sounded like the eldritch being's version of laughter. Did I please it?

As I got almost fully inside, I noticed something lying in the middle of the hallway.

It looked like a first aid kit. I could survive.

Not for much, though. I wasn't a fool to not realize that he must have put it there, most likely amused at my efforts and wanting to give me hope before it was crushed.

Jokes on him. I don't care about this life at all.

How could I when, in my dying breath, I'd just end up in a comfortable bed a moment afterwards?

I finally reached the first aid kit. On closer inspection, it was corrupted by the caustic black material, one side more prominently blackened than the other. I propped myself slowly into a sitting position, then took the first aid kit and opened it. It was filled with supplies and even some food.

I took what I felt was my well deserved rest.

/*/

After eating up, bandaging myself in some places and applying a spraying medicine that somehow managed to return feeling in my legs in moments and dull the pain (and applying the spray across the majority of my body afterwards), I got up.

Even though it was only around 15 minutes, I felt significantly refreshed. I wasn't about to be running anytime soon, though.

I made my way towards the end of the room before something happened. One moment I was in the hallway, the other I was in the facility again, more specifically in a hallway which looked different than what I was used to from the facility. Here it looked more like a bunker than, well, a facility. I turned around and it wasn't the charred black floor that I was expecting - It was the containment zone again.

That made my mind trip a little bit.

Unsure of this new development, I pressed on, and was about to go through the door were it not for the black expanse of nothing that awaited me there. I heard a shriek as well.

No, I was wrong. Upon further inspection, there appeared to be a narrow bridge down below.

With a jagged rock going in what looked to be an eight from this perspective.

Interesting.

Out of curiosity, I went to look at the other door. When it opened, I saw a red floor, but not much else. After deliberating between the two, I finally decided to bet my luck on the red floor. The drop was at least lower than the other room.

Instead of jumping, I hanged from the ledge of the door and tried to go as down as humanly possible before I jumped off.

My legs strained under the impact, but that was about it. The hallway was very dark, and as I started moving forward, I noticed one disturbing detail.

This wasn't a hallway. It was a room.

I looked at the unreachable door I came from. So this had been the wrong choice after all?

Ah well. I looked at the room for any peculiarities, but the only thing that stood out was the long cubic shape. I got closer to it, but my eyes were drawn irresistibly towards the top of the column.

Golden eyes gazed back at me. Mocking. I suddenly noticed that my energy was disappearing much faster than before.

Is this where I die?

After several seconds of eye contact, I heard a voice in my head, which I assume was the Old Man's.

 _ **KNEEL.**_

He wanted me to kneel?

I found, rather uncharacteristically, that I didn't exactly mind doing the one inane action if it meant a less gruesome death. And the Old Man was somewhat nice to me.

He didn't need to give me a first aid kit!

Well, he probably felt it'd be more fun to watch me squirm more longer and finally succumb under my own agony.

But hey, if you have the option to take the less gruesome death... The lesser of two evils, eh?

I knelt.

/*Don't forget to take a short break and drink some water. You're probably dehydrated right now.*/

For a moment, nothing happened. I was kneeling in front of the sadistic creature and all of a sudden I was assaulted by the sounds of loud airplanes. I appeared to be located in a trench of sorts, and this looked like a war broke out.

Seeing no other option, I started moving down the trench. I heard an airplane start to come in towards me from the far right.

My head was whipped out of my control, the same effect from before that forced me to look at the Old Man but much stronger now. I was looking in the direction of the plane.

I knew I was going to die. I accepted it even, which gave me a strange, but not unwelcome sense of apathy towards my situation.

It still didn't stop my abject horror rising from that... _thing_ up there.

It _sounded_ like an airplane. What it actually was was something that couldn't be farther from the truth. An eldritch horror I knew I would be seeing in my nightmares over. It was an absolutely humongous bird of purest black, with bones adorning the majority of its face and the outer layers of its body, including a rib cage on the upper part of its torso.

The middle, however, slowly opened up to reveal a blood red eye easily two times my size, maybe three, with a black iris and white in the middle. It was staring right at me.

The worst, however, was being forced to look in the eye as it flew to the other side. The eye contact made my blood boil, but not in the metaphorical sense.

It literally felt as if my blood was boiling inside my body, and my eyes were the conduit. I tried closing them, but that only intensified the pain somehow.

It also felt like the longest time until the abomination flew out of sight, and the burning stopped, but the damage had already been done. I felt much weaker, and it felt like I was scraping my skin by just walking with my shoes.

I tried my best to move under to the planks, and I almost made it, but it was not to be. It was coming again.

The telltale sign of my head snapping to the direction of the thing was enough of a cue. And, as if on a signal, the infernal burning continued.

It was pure, unadulterated torture. And the burning was getting even worse. Oh God, it was unbearable, staring at the thing and feeling my insides burn out.

It lasted for too long, and I was too injured beforehand, regardless of the first aid kit. As it flew out of sight, I collapsed on the floor, face facing the sky.

The planks were only a few meters away from me, but I couldn't move. I've lost all my strength at this point, the exhaustion proving simply too much for my body.

I heard the plane move back towards me and this time, I prayed as hard as I could to God to save me, because I couldn't take it anymore.

My head started moving.

I screamed.

* * *

 **AN: See? Like I said, nothing much going on. Such a boring chapter.**

 **Cue "This Fire Burns" by Killswitch Engage for added effect. The first ten seconds or so are enough to understand how our main character feels in this chapter.**

 **Hope you enjoyed.**

 **Next Chapter: 18th August, 2018**


	3. Chapter 3 - The More The Merrier?

**AN: And off we go to another chapter.**

 **A bit of a tribute to a certain review in the first part here. I hope my reasoning makes sense here.**

 **By the way, I'm trying out a new concept in this chapter. You'll know it when you see it.**

 **Also, shout outs to my beta reader, jerysxo, who has helped with some last minute fixes and contributed to the quality of this chapter. You rock!**

* * *

When I woke up, I didn't scream.

I felt too tired for it.

Instead, I whimpered, rocking back and forth and refusing to open my eyes. I felt numbness and exhaustion permeate my whole being in a way previously completely alien to me. It's as if I've aged twenty years in a single day.

I thought I was prepared. I thought I knew what I was getting into.

I remember being so excited, the possibility of escaping clouding everything else.

Even the crushing reality that lay underneath.

The reality that, even if I died, I wasn't given a choice.

The worst part wasn't even the horrifying death I just went through moments ago, being forced to watch the abomination fly over and gaze at me with its eye countless times before I finally passed away.

The worst part was that I'd have to go through it again, whether I wanted to or not.

Maybe not now, maybe not in the next loop...

But if I died a hundred additional times, is it a stretch to imagine that the Old Man would be the cause for some of those deaths?

And that I would eventually end up in that trench again..?

That brought me to think about what happened, and then I whimpered some more, like a baby without its parents.

It was one of those things you couldn't really think about until you lived through them, even though you thought you could.

Yes, it's easy to think that you're going to die. But with a goal in mind, the suffering becomes meaningful. It gave me strength in that, regardless if I died, I was one step closer to escaping. And also, even if I died, it wouldn't be permanent.

If only it were so simple.

The complicated part came when you actually started dying. It wasn't like a video game where you watched the character die, then shrugged and clicked the respawn button. It was traumatic in every sense of the word, made all the more so by my complete inexperience with death, especially my own.

Eventually, I stopped whimpering. I just laid there, eyes scrunched shut as hard as possible. No matter how terrified I was, how senseless paranoia told me that Billy was going to get me if I didn't open them...

I didn't open my eyes. I was afraid of what I'd see if I did.

I didn't want to see the eye again. Not ever, never.

The door opened.

"Hey. They've got some work for ya. Do me a favor, and step out of your cell."

I didn't move. I didn't have the strength to.

"What, are you stupid or something? Hey, sleepyhead! I said, step out of your cell. If you don't step out of your cell, I'm gonna kick your ass."

Idly, a part of my head noted that I should be afraid right now.

Instead, I felt numb. And either way, to get up and go outside would mean I had to open my eyes. I wasn't prepared to do that.

Maybe...

Maybe I'll just sleep this one off.

"Hah, you have got to be the dumbest test subject we've ever had!" He paused. Maybe he shrugged, I didn't care. "Or you're just a really heavy sleeper. Oh well. Shut the doors and open the gas valves."

The doors shut down and I could hear the sound of gas being poured into the room. Even as I started feeling dizzy and nauseous, as my body started to spasm uncontrollably and my consciousness leaving...

I still didn't open my eyes.

/*/

When I woke up again, I had the sudden clarity of mind to conclude that I never wanted to go through that again. Brief as my death was, it was _not_ pleasant.

Remembering the feeling made me want to throw up in my mouth. I resolved not to repeat the same mistake again.

Which meant that I would need to use my eyes to escape the facility.

That brought me to attention. I fought against my fear and - slowly, painfully - opened my eyes.

A dull, unassuming white room was in front of them. I sighed in relief. I was expecting to see _that_ again, irrational as it was. Just knowing that I could trust my eyes somehow gave me a little confidence, muted as it was.

In fact, now that I think about it, having my eyes closed all the time kept reminding me of it... With my eyes open, I could think about other things.

I was in shock, I realized. It didn't take an Einstein to guess just what traumatic experiences caused said shock.

Regardless, thinking about it all the time won't do me any favors.

So I focused on my next agenda, as much as I could.

The agenda being the two people that died from Billy. If I could get to them in time, before Billy did...

Could I save them?

As the door opened and the guard beckoned me outside, I didn't feel motivated as I might have felt once before.

I just felt tired.

/*/

Once I was free to explore the facility, I gunned it towards them. It was relatively simple once you knew the facility for a bit, you just went right and followed until you reached the place.

Then it got complicated. On the last hallway before the room, before I managed to catch up to them...

A teddy bear was blocking my way.

Of all the things... a teddy bear!?

And for all I knew, this little buddy would chase me and kill me in a terrible and brutal fashion.

Perhaps the worst of it was that, as I stood in front of the teddy bear that was looking at me, I fully believed that it could kill me and that it would traumatize me horribly if given the slightest chance.

I mean, if it was on the ground and not moving, who knows? It might have been a useful and beneficial SCP, if it wasn't a normal teddy bear in the first place!

But since it was animated and could move, it simply couldn't be helped. It was definitely a terrible and gruesome creature of doom.

I once doubted this _genius_ way of classifying SCPs, before I learned with experience.

Oh, did I learn...

The idea can easily be summarized with one question that you should ask yourself in this facility.

' _Have you ever seen an animate SCP that was_ _ **not**_ _evil?'_

...

Reminded of this age-old doctrine, I, adhering to its infinite wisdom, humbly turned tail and fled.

/*/

This time, I tried something out. I made a relatively short loop back to the place, expecting it to follow me but being too small for it.

Inevitably leading it outside of the hallway.

Whatever the case may be, the bear was not there and I managed to go through the door.

Success!

And they were there.

"I think there's an exit on the-"

Oh shit. Wasn't this what he said before they died?

Was I too late?

"WATCH OUT!" I shouted loudly. The scientist stopped and they both looked at me, eyes wide. "SCP-173 IS IN THE VENTS. DON'T JUST STAND THERE. MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!" I continued shouting my lungs out.

Perhaps sensing the urgency in my voice, both of them wasted no time in moving towards me, with me already opening the door for them.

The moment they were at my side, I closed the door.

The lights went out. The sound of a vent being opened could be heard, and some scraping of concrete across the floor.

The lights turned back on.

They were still alive. Did...

Did I do it?

"Keep your eyes sharp." I said, then opened the door.

Billy was down at the stairs. I closed the door.

"You," The scientist started, panting. "Saved us. Thank you."

"Mighty thanks from me as well. We stay there a moment longer and we almost get the short end of the stick, heh." The janitor added. I noticed he had a bit of a cowboy accent going on.

I did it! They were alive!

"No problem. For now, though, we should move." I said, just as the door opened. The two weren't expecting it and quickly whipped their eyes to Billy, but I was already watching it.

After what I've been through, there was no way I was going to let my guard down.

"H-He can open doors!?" The janitor stammered out. He looked to be increasingly nervous.

"Yeah, but I've encountered him before. Be fast enough and he eventually loses track of you. Don't worry about it. Now, let's get a move on already."

The scientist agreed. "Yes, the D-Class speaks the truth. Then I guess I shall take over this ragtag group of survivors. If you follow me you might even survive."

...Pulling it out of the ass a bit, but as long as he delivered, I was fine with it.

He probably knew the facility better than him anyways.

"Perfect. I'm fine with it. Let's go." I said, and started to move towards the door I came through, which lead to the rest of the facility.

Just as the scientist went in the other direction.

Towards the door that lead to a dead end.

Oh, come on...

"Uh, sir... You're going in the wrong direction." I said.

The janitor was standing in the middle with the two of us on opposite sides. He appeared to hesitate, before moving to stand beside the scientist. He sent an apologetic look to me, as much as he could while looking at Billy anyways.

"And what," The increasingly annoying figure said. ", makes you think you know more about this facility than me."

"I've been-"

"Ah da-da!" Did this idiot just shush me!? "I don't want to hear it, and you're wasting our time. You saved our lives, that much is true, but that doesn't mean I'm going to allow you to lead us into our doom. You're a Class D, don't forget your place."

I suppressed the urge to hit him. Did this fool want to get himself killed!? What was the difference if you were a scientist or a D-Class when one knew better than the other?

But I can't just leave them, or they'll die...

Goddammit!

"Fine." I gritted and made to join them. I'll have to make a plan for when Billy inevitably follows.

"Atta boy. Now let's stop dilly-dallying. You stay there while I open the door. Follow me once I give the signal." He grinned and went to open the door. "To freedom."

To freedom, my ass. This guy was probably in it only for himself. I quickly realized that there would be no getting to him. We were probably there as meat shields for him.

Judging how he suddenly had two of us between him and Billy as he was retreating - and most assuredly _not_ giving a signal - I had a disturbing feeling the sentiment was more close to reality than I thought.

"Let's go." I said.

"B-But, shouldn't we wait for his signal?" The insecure janitor asked.

"I have a feeling we aren't getting a signal. You should follow me. I've roamed around the facility quite a bit before I got to you guys, and I know for sure that the way he went through is a dead end."

The guy needed a moment to process what I said, and the implications. When it became acutely clear that there wouldn't be a signal, he started cursing.

"That greasy two-faced son of a whore. He was lyin' like a rug the entire time. Shieet!"

Wow... he... really did sound like a cowboy.

I shook my head. This really wasn't the time.

"Yeah, yeah. Follow me, let's go. It's probably gonna chase him anyways, should give us enough time to escape."

I started walking, but then the guy started talking.

"Now hold on a second, mister. The guy may be uglier inside than the southern end of a northern bound horse, but I don' exactly wish him dead."

Oh for the love of-

"Then let me make this simple for you." I said, patience gone. "Either you go with him, or you go with me. I'm not going to risk my life again for that sleazeball."

"Just keep in mind who actually helped and who didn't when you make your decision. Also, I'm blinking. Keep your eyes on it."

When I was sure he was looking at it, with an indecisive look nonetheless, I blinked.

"You can blink now. I'm watching." I added for good measure.

"Well... I guess you do make a point." He said, then started to move towards me. He probably blinked in the meantime. I moved to the door, though I didn't open it just yet. Never know what's behind it.

"Though I want to keep it on record that I do not like this, mister!" He said as he moved next to me. "I don't like it one bit!"

I internally rolled my eyes. "Will do. Now keep your eyes on it. I need to check-" My eyes turned to the shelf to the left.

There looked to be some papers on it.

And a card.

"Keep looking at it." I said, then went to the shelf. I heard his voice from behind. "Hey, where are you going, partner?"

"I saw some stuff we could use." I said. "I'll be right there. Give me five seconds."

Since I was in a rush, I took the papers and what looked to be a Level 1 security clearance card, then dashed right back to him.

"Keep your eyes on it. I'm checking the room." I opened the room, half expecting to see the bear again.

Luck was on our side, though. The room was empty. I turned to look at Billy again. I noticed that the door from which the scientist went through was open. Memories came from when I kept all the doors opened, and what happened afterwards.

"Come inside. I'll close the door behind you." He complied.

I closed the door.

"Phew. That took a few years out of my life." The man said. Then he turned to me.

"Say.. there any chance we could save him?"

"Let's see..." I said, already doubting it. If I was right...

I opened the door again.

"Sweet merciful Christ!" The guy turned around to look at the room.

Except it was empty.

"Just as I expected." I closed the door.

"At least warn me the next time you pull a stunt like that! You gave me a heart attack!" The guy was breathing heavily, and I felt a pang of empathy for him.

"Right, sorry about that. Did you see the opened door from where the scientist went through?"

"Yea..."

"Billy probably went through there to pick him off. If he kept the doors open like that then Billy can easily catch up. I highly doubt that we can make it in time."

The janitor looked confused.

"Billy?"

"Ah." I guess I didn't explain that. "That's how I refer to SCP-173." I felt oddly bittersweet as I repeated the words of the D-Class that died. "Less of a mouthful that way."

He shrugged, then grinned. "If it works, it works. Anyways, what's your name, lad? I think I ought to know the name of my savior."

Ah...

"Well... I don't... exactly... remember." I finished lamely.

He stared at me, long and hard.

"You don't... remember your name?"

"Yeah." One of the unexpected disadvantages of everyone calling you 'kid' or 'squirt' in your childhood, with everything else afterwards being a black haze.

"Well that's a new one." He said after a moment. He looked me up and down.

"Yeah..." He said after a while.

"Huh?" I questioned.

"Yeah." He nodded, as if teaching an important lesson. "You definitely look like a Jimmy. Imma call you Jimmy from now on. Strong and manly name, that is."

Uhh...

Maybe it's best if I didn't think about it too much?

I'm fairly sure my actual name wasn't Jimmy anyways...

"And your name?"

"Why it is none other than Steve Jimmy Fischkopf." He nodded his head towards me in greeting. "Pleased to meet ya."

Hey, wait a second...

"Did you just give me your name because you couldn't think of anything else?"

He grinned in response. I sighed.

"Pleased to be met, I guess. Now, let's get a move on.." I started to move, but Steve put his hand on my shoulder.

"Hey. Can ya give me the keycard you snatched a while ago for a moment? I wanna check this door."

"Sure. Try it out." I smiled as I gave him the keycard.

I suppose it couldn't hurt to humor him. He was new to this after all. Better to get used to the disappointment earlier than later, right?

I've been through most of the open entrances to the facility, and basically all the terminals I passed before had a notice that said that they need at the very least level 2, if not 3, security clearance. The chance that this would open so conveniently-

The door accepted the keycard, and the door opened.

"Well, well," Steve started. "Looks like we got lucky. Let's go in and explore."

"Yeah." I said numbly. I mean, sure we found apparently the one room that could be opened with this card, but that doesn't mean we would get anything useful-

"Hey, come in. I think I just found a level two card!" My eye twitched.

"Hey, look!" He came up to me and showed me what was most certainly a level two security clearance card.

"I'm pretty good at this, don't you think? No complications whatsoever and we already have this baby over here. Yeehaw!"

A dark look crossed over my face. My eye twitched again.

"Eh hehe..." The man laughed, but it was much more hesitant. He finally noticed my expression. "You, uh... You okay there, buddy? You have a mighty scary look on your face right now."

Oh... did I now... What could it be, I wonder?

Perhaps the fact that I literally _died_ over and over again searching for a way out but not being able to find _anything_ useful except death and bloody murder in this whole facility.

Maybe also the fact that I already was in these two rooms, but couldn't check the shelves due to Billy following me...

These are all valid reasons.

But maybe...

Just maybe...

It was that this _janitor_ made more progress than me in five minutes than I have in my entire time roaming the facility, even with my ability to go back in time!?

"I'm. Fine." I tried smiling but I probably looked like a psycho because the poor man looked positively scared now.

I took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled it.

"Sorry. I just remembered something..." I struggled to find a word for it.

"Tragic. Very... tragic." I sighed, feeling too old for this.

"Let's just finally go somewhere."

He appeared to hesitate, but eventually followed.

"Listen, I'm sorry if I made you recall something bad. I really didn't mean to." He actually sounded apologetic.

That made it all the worse in my head. And the worst part was that I couldn't really be angry at him.

"Don't worry about it, Steve. It's nothing you did... I guess it's myself I'm mad at."

He shot me a concerned look.

"Listen kid... If there's anything I've learned in life, it's that you got to learn to forgive yourself. If you can't forgive yourself, what's the point? You'd just be weighing yourself down with all of your past failures and could never appreciate the good work you've done and could do. Trust me, I've been through it."

That... was surprisingly deep advice.

I made sure to remember it.

He must have seen my surprised look, because he laughed briskly.

"Didn't expect that from a janitor? Yeah, I can tell." He took it with good humor.

"If I may ask..." I began. "How did you end up being a janitor? You seem... more experienced."

As we were walking through the facility, he told me his story.

"Well, believe it or not, I owned a farm back in the day. I've worked, bled, and shed tears for that piece of land and eventually, I gave it to my kids. Naturally, that's not the whole story, and there's much being left out, but it's a good enough summary."

"Work was all I knew but, when I eventually retired, I felt empty, y'know? Suddenly having nothing to do. So, one thing led to another, and I started working here. Pays quite good for the position, considering that I have to clean containment chambers and the like. They appreciate folks like me who can keep things to themselves and do their job quietly."

Then he started asking about me.

"How about you? You got a reason for being here?"

"Not one that I can remember."

"Ah, yeah, they apply amnestics on you guys, right?"

"That might explai-"

A familiar noise echoed in the room.

I could see a black puddle rising from the floor.

Terror rose within me.

"RUN!"

/* Don't forget to take a break and drink some water! */

 _Steve Jimmy Fischkopf_

The young man that saved him definitely was one of them strange ones.

On the superficial level, he looked all like what you'd expect from Class D folk. Blunt (but not necessarily impolite, this one) with a casual disregard towards authority.

That's what I'd thought at the beginning, but it was clear from the very start that there was more to him than met the eye.

After all, he did save them. But I didn't fail to notice that the man was heavily panting when he came here, after which he started shouting for them to get away the moment he was there.

Now, you can call him stupid, but this old guy's nothing if not observant of these kinds of things.

The kid knew me and the scientist were there. He also knew that SCP-173 would go through the vents directly to them.

And how did a kid like him know that?

Not a kid, his mind corrected. This was a man, eyes hardened through experience and hardships.

The poor guy was also as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. Every time he opened the door, and it was always he who did, insisting that I stay back a bit, he looked like he expected the devil himself on the other side of the door.

The look made me sad, but it also made me curious. Just what had he been through before he reached them?

I didn't think I wanted to know.

But the look of pure, unadulterated terror that morphed on Jimmy's was one that had him instantly on edge.

I caught the strange sound and looked to see-

Wait just a gosh darn second...

Is that a black man rising from the ground!?

"RUN!"

Well, I didn't need to be told twice.

I booked it after the guy. Woah, he was really gunning it.

"H-hey, slow down! I-I can't keep up!" I shouted after him, but he didn't listen.

He eventually did stop, but it wasn't because of me.

"STOP!" He shouted.

"EEEEH!" Then there was a woman's shriek, followed by a thump.

I caught up and took note of the situation. Jimmy was standing in a room. There were two yellow painted areas on the floor in the middle of the room, and they had "Activation Zone" written on them.

There was a woman too. She looked like she was running, but got scared by Jimmy and instead fell on her butt.

"What are we waiting for!? It's catching up!" I said and started to move, but Jimmy grabbed my hand instantly, bringing me to a halt.

I was about to question just what in the blazes was he doing, but he silently stepped on the yellow tile.

Electricity arched between what I could now see were two devices on both corners of the room.

Oh... dayum!

"You both almost ran into your deaths." He said, then to my horror, took my hand and started dragging me towards it.

I was so shocked that I didn't react, and when I did, it was too late.

We were moving through the room.

Through some amazing feat of luck, the electrical field didn't turn on and vaporize us. I looked back, but I quickly regretted the action.

The black man just entered the room.

"GET UP, WOMAN!" Jimmy shrieked. The woman, lost in her daze, snapped up and did as she was told.

Then she turned around to look at the creature following us.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" And then she howled an ear-piercing screech, common sense long forgotten in face of terror as she screamed to the heavens.

The screech was so loud that it dazed me, the noise almost knocking me to my feet.

And she was only getting louder as the monster came closer.

"Oh God, the pain! It hurts!" I could _taste_ the agony in my comrade's voice.

Something snapped within me. "Oh for the love of- SHUT YER TRAP, WOMAN!" I screamed from the top of my lungs.

The infernal screaming finally stopped, followed by a choked sob.

We all stood there in horror as the creature approached, but before common sense could kick in, something unexpected happened.

The black man walked into the activation zone. He didn't stop walking.

Then he got electrocuted, made an eldritch voice of displeasure and sank into the floor in a matter of seconds.

There was silence for one blissful moment.

...

"What." And it was broken by Jimmy, whose eye was twitching again.

"Everything okay there, son?"

"It was so easy. So... easy..." Jimmy continued mumbling to himself in his stupor, and I would be content to let him sort out his problems, if not for the frightened woman now looking at him with fear.

I couldn't handle another one of them screams.

"Snap out of it, boy! We haven't even introduced ourselves to this lovely lady over here." I had hoped that that would turn his mind from whatever dark thoughts they were laying on, and - in a way - I had gotten my wish.

Jimmy breathed heavily, then turned to him.

I gulped. I did _not_ like that look. Not one bit.

"You're right, Steve. We should talk to this woman about how her _idiocy_ almost killed us all, after I saved her nonetheless." He turned to her as he spoke, though I was secretly pleased that his expression wasn't as murderous as before. Just angry.

That didn't seem to make a difference for her.

"H-Hey! That was a completely appropriate reaction!" Her face fell a bit under his dull and unimpressed stare, but she recovered. "And besides, when did you ever save me? All you did was shout at me!"

She had a smug look on her face. Jimmy probably relished in bringing it down.

"Oh? You mean when I was literally shouting at you because you were running into an electrical field, mmmm?" I mean, he _did_ have a point there...

"I-I would have stopped!"

"Of course. I totally believe you." The sarcasm was thick as tar on this one. I wasn't sure if I wanted to step into this minefield of a conversation or not, but they kinda needed to get moving soon.

"W-Well, at least I'm not a stinky Class D!"

"I might be a Class D, but at least _I_ don't have screams potent enough to require SCP classification."

"Shithead!"

"Birdbrain!"

I finally decided to step in before the conversation devolved any further. "Children, children! Let's behave. I believe we have yet to introduce ourselves."

"I'm Steve and that's Jimmy. What's your name, lass?"

"Uh... Sunshine." She shrugged, embarrassed. "My parents weren't exactly creative..."

"Nice to meet you, Sunshine." I began.

"Now, I sure as heck understand that you two have got your own differences but standing around here won't help us any. We should keep moving or we'll be seeing a lot more of them monsters around here."

There. There's no way they could argue against that logi-

"And how do we know the Class D won't drag us down, hmmmm? For all we know, he's just waiting to stab us in the back!"

"Oh yeah? From what I recall, _I_ saved you and you almost got us all killed. So who's stabbing who here?"

"You did _so_ not save me!"

I sighed. This was going to be a long day.

/* Feeling tired? Then you're probably feeling like Steve! Do what he can't and go take a 5 minute break from all the chaos! Extra points if you drink water! */

 _D-9341_

That damned woman.

They finally managed to get into a comfortable silence, but I had a feeling it wouldn't last.

Every time I made a suggestion on their next moves, she started arguing with me about it. Some of the things she argued with me were just outright stupid and seemed more designed for the sake of arguing than anything else.

Oh, they couldn't hide in the basement because there were monsters there?

He was making it up! It must have been the adrenaline causing me to see illusions, she said. Luckily, or unluckily if you're me, she didn't go there alone. She was too afraid to separate from the group.

Then we finally united on trying to use the keycard to try and find a way out.

"Great idea," She said. "We can go in a room and wait it out until this whole thing is done!"

'Yeah, let's go in a narrow, enclosed space with the Old Man running about. I'm sure there is absolutely _nothing_ wrong with that!' Just how did someone like her even get into the Foundation? It made no sense!

And then, naturally, the arguing started again. It usually resolved with Steve siding on one side - which was _always_ mine - and the woman finally shutting up.

The worst was that Steve thought much the same about her. Oh, he didn't say it, but I could see it. He gave her one of those pained and conflicted looks that told a whole story when she talked. Like he was sorry that she came with them but knew what the opposite implied, or perhaps the way she didn't realize how... questionable some of the things she said were.

For all I knew, it could be both and more.

As time passed though, she at least seemed to ease up on arguing with me, as well as relax a bit.

I managed to convince the group to go back to what I learned was the storage room, where we separated from the scientist.

"Are you sure you wanna go there?" I asked. "We might see him... you know."

"What? See who?" She asked. I ignored her.

"There was a guy we were with. That darn scientist just used us to make his own escape against one of them monsters. And according to Jimmy here, that's a dead end. But there might be a chance he's still alive, or so our friend here says." He then turned to me. "Care to elaborate?"

"Gladly. I said it was a dead end, and it is, but there's a containment chamber at the very end of it. You need a card to access it, though. Since-"

"And since he was a scientist, he probably had a keycard which he could use to enter the containment chamber! He probably planned to hide until the monster went away, right?"

My eyes bulged. Steve's eyes did the same.

We both stared at her.

She started to squirm.

"W-What? It's only logical, isn't it?"

"Y-Yeah..." That's actually what had me worried, not that I was going to say it.

It was official. The world was coming to an end.

Although, I knew it wasn't any use...

The scientist didn't have a keycard, after all. He distinctly remembered scavenging his corpse for something useful.

His and Steve's corpses...

I shook the memories away. This was not the time.

I wanted to get in that containment chamber anyways. If I was going to start finding useful SCPs, then why not start with the biggest?

Provided the keycard worked...

We continued past the open doors, with me closing them behind us. Sunshine first argued with me on it (Keeping them open is a great way for us to know where we were!), but once she learned of the other major threat, she wisely relented.

I didn't focus on how I made exactly the same mistake as her, but hey, that _technically_ never happened, right?

She would never know...

They went into another room with an electrical field, a room which I knew was the one prior to the containment chamber. Either way, the doors were still opened.

We could clearly see a corpse in the containment chamber there.

"Poor fellow..." Steve said, and I was inclined to agree.

"Eeeeeehh..." Sunshine let out a low pitched whimper that lasted for longer than I would have liked, but at least she didn't scream.

I didn't think I could handle another one of those.

"Hey..." I started. "Could you give me the keycard? I need to check something. You guys can stay here."

"Sure thing, son." He gave it to me easily enough, though not without a confused face. "What are ya planning to do with that?"

"That containment chamber. Usually there are papers inside that tell you what the SCPs do. I'd like to check if this one would be anything useful."

"I see..." He gave me a strange look, as if he was contemplating me.

I shrugged and went to the containment chamber, avoiding the electrical field in the process. I made sure to step over the body and, seeing how he had nothing useful on him previously, I ignored him.

I put the keycard in the scanner.

The doors started to open. _Success!_

"Guys," I raised my voice so they could hear me. "Come in!"

While they were on the way, I looked around the room. I immediately went to the shelves with the papers. I also saw a first aid kit which I picked up. I made sure to remember where it was for next time.

I read through the paper. It seemed that if you put an object through one end and insert a setting, you'd get an object relative to the setting and object you had set.

Now, that was interesting...

I raised my head from the paper to look at the two, who were just poking their heads in the room. I lowered the paper.

Seriously, did they really _have_ to lag behind here?

"Steve, read through this. I'm gonna close the door." I gave him the paper and went to close the door, but he put his hand on my shoulder.

"Jimmy, what's going on? Why are we staying here?"

"Read the paper. I want to try something out with the machine." I went on to close the containment chamber door. I spared a glance for Sunshine, but I stopped once it looked like she was about to retch.

"Is everything okay?" I felt the need to ask.

"How c-can everything be okay? T-T-There's-" She stopped. She looked like she was about to vomit. "Body." She finished.

"Ah." I went on to close the door. I meant it more for Billy, but if it prevented the body from being seen, then all the better.

The doors closed.

/*/

 _Steve Jimmy Fischkopf_

"There we go. Now, on to business. Sunshine, you can take a breather. Just don't go to any corners of the room. It doesn't hurt to be careful."

She sniffed and still looked sick, but she nodded.

I was looking at Jimmy as he was doing all of these things. I couldn't help but note his casual disregard for the corpse of the man they both once knew, going so far as to even act as if the nasty smell didn't exist.

The more I looked at the unperturbed man, the more I realized something. Jimmy didn't give off an impression that he didn't care, but it was more like he had to suffer through much worse and couldn't bother himself with 'just a corpse'.

And I wasn't blind to Jimmy's machinations either. Oh, he did suggest they go see if the scientist was dead or not, but he never once showed any emotion regarding the man. But the biggest tell was when he saw the corpse.

No surprise whatsoever on Jimmy's face. He'd already expected this would happen.

While I trusted the man to a certain degree, seeing as he _did_ have a penchant for saving them...

Steve couldn't help but be scared. Perhaps not at what Jimmy is now...

But at what Jimmy could be, when pushed. Steve wondered at just how necessary it was for them to go to the other side of the facility instead of following the scientist... Surely, they could have saved him after he realized he went in a dead end, with their three pairs of eyes...

Jimmy eventually turned to Steve. I shook my head, dispelling the morbid thoughts and walked up to him, grinning.

"Hey, partner. I read this thing here, and while it seems nifty and all, I don't exactly get how we're gonna use it."

"Well, I'd like that clearance one keycard, and then we'll see if my hunch is right. May I?" Seeing no reason not to, I gave it to him.

He grinned. "Great. Now let's do some magic." He then went on to put it in the left side of the machine, SCP-914 if he recalled, then put the setting on 'Fine', after which he pulled the strange lever-button thing.

There was a moment of clinking noises with the machine presumably working, before the door to the right opened.

I went to see what was inside, curious despite himself.

It was a level two keycard. My eyes widened.

"Just as I thought." Steve heard behind him, and knew that the man was grinning without looking at him.

"May I have the keycard, please?"

Jimmy examined the two keycards after getting them and, satisfied, pocketed one. He then threw the other one in the machine, set the setting on 'Very Fine', then pulled the thingy.

"Now..." Jimmy started. "Let's see what comes out when we put a level two keycard in. This... should be good for us. Very good." Jimmy said, and I couldn't help but share his confidence.

Even Sunshine looked interested despite herself.

When the machine finally opened, I went in there and got...

A master card?

I looked at Jimmy, who was also confused.

"Well," Sunshine snorted in a very unladylike manner. "You technically got what you asked for. I bet that card has a lot of money on it. 'Very Fine', indeed."

My mind resisted the situation before me once again, hearing her make sense. Jimmy, however, nodded a moment later.

"So, are the cards useless now or can we try throwing them in there?" He thought aloud. "What do you think, Sunshine?"

"Me?" She asked. When he nodded and it was clear that this wasn't a joke, she responded. "Well, there's always a chance that it's going to variate between thousands of different cards besides a master card. However, it already went from a keycard to a master card. Who's to say the opposite can't happen, you know?"

"My thoughts exactly. What if it continues varying, though? Is it worth for us to continue throwing cards inside or do we abandon them?"

As the two continued to discuss this, I noticed that Sunshine relaxed the more she got into the conversation.

 _He's both distracting her and making peace with her._ Smart man.

A surprisingly considerate one as well, if you keep in mind how the two started out.

I also misjudged poor miss Sunshine. As I watched them talk over these various topics I couldn't hope to follow, old man that I was, I realized that she was an intelligent woman in her own right.

That shouldn't have been as big of a shock as it was. She _did_ work for the Foundation, after all, and she was obviously not a guard of any sort. Her... questionable moments arose mostly, I thought, when she was extremely nervous and in shock. It was natural that you wouldn't be in your best state that way, and she _was_ more emotional than good ol' Jimmy.

Speaking of which, that raised a whole new can of worms. It was understandable that she was smart - once you got to know her.

But that didn't explain him. Call it judging a book by its cover, but he wasn't expecting to see a Class D be quite as cunning in his actions and decisions as Jimmy had proven himself to be throughout their time in the facility.

An enigma wrapped in a mystery, if I ever saw one.

/*/

 _D-9341_

They ended up throwing the master card inside and eventually finding out that, past some other random cards, the one that mostly came out was a keycard. Another useful tidbit to know for the future.

And I was pleasantly surprised as well. Sunshine was a good talking partner for brainstorming, once she got calm enough to think rationally.

They threw a level two keycard they've gotten (An improvement of the level one keycard!) inside the machine, but got a strange keycard as a result this time.

"Hey, guys... look at this one." I said.

"There's no number on it." Steve remarked.

"And yet it possesses the SCP logo on top, like all the other keycards we've seen so far. Intriguing." She added.

"What do you think the name might mean?" I asked.

The 'Omnicard' was a pretty strange name, if he said so himself. Wait...

It couldn't possibly-

A sound filled the room.

A very familiar sound for all three of them.

A black spot started growing underneath them.

"Oh God..." Her voice started trembling with her, and she looked to be on the verge of losing control.

"Move!" I ordered. We ran towards the door. "Steve, talk to her. Keep her from hyperventilating. Last time we got lucky. Let's not test that same luck again." Since the Omnicard was in my hands, I quickly flashed it over the scanner, just to test it. The doors started opening. He filed that away for later.

I could hear Steve comfort her as they started to exit, stepping over the scientist. The Old Man started walking towards them.

"Oh God, oh God, oh God..." Sunshine was mumbling to herself, but that was still good. Her whispering was better than her shouting.

Then they opened the other door.

Billy was standing on the other half of the room, behind the electrical field.

Oh for the love of-

"WE'RE GONNA DIEEEEE!" Sunshine started wailing. And there goes her self control. I heard Steve talk but ignored him in favor of focusing on Billy.

"Stay behind me, and keep your eyes on the statue!" I'd have said more, and held my hand out to stop them, before-

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Something slammed into me, pushing me forwards.

/*/

"WE'RE GONNA DIEEEE!" Oh boy. There goes Sunshine.

"Sunshine calm down. We're not gonna die yet. We can still fight!" I really didn't know what else to say. Why wasn't there a manual for calming women down when they face eldritch abominations!?

Why!?

Sunshine looked at Steve as he ended speaking, but that proved to be a mistake because she then focused on something behind him.

Her eyes widened, and Steve knew what was coming.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" This time, I hadn't quite closed my eyes. I ended up wishing I did, though, because in my many years, I could never have predicted what would happen next.

Sunshine ran forward, running away from the monstrosity behind them.

And promptly slammed into Jimmy, sending him hurling forwards.

Right into the electrical field. Jimmy's body convulsed violently before dropping to the floor, dead.

"No..." She stood there, watching the body. "No, no, no no..."

She took a big, shuddering breath.

"AAA-"

* * *

 **-AAAAAAnd that's the end of the chapter, ladies and germs. Hope you enjoyed.**

 **A bit of a slower chapter and also a tamer one in comparison to the previous one. I had a bit of a dilemma where I tried to end the chapter on a 'light' note but the most I could manage is having our main character die first so he doesn't have to witness the others die.**

 **That brings us to the others. First things first, I'm not planning for this to be a story where the character has reoccurring companions for various reasons. These will be explored in the next chapter.**

 **However, that doesn't mean that I won't include them in the future, just that it's mostly going to be our protagonist in the spotlight.**

 **Onto the characters themselves. I took the ones from scripted events, as some of you might have guessed, such as the janitor and scientist, not to mention ye olde woman that runs into the electrical field.**

 **I tried to make them have deeper personalities, which I find most noticeable with said woman. Sure, she ran into her death in the game like an idiot, but she was also a part of the Foundation, and I'd like to think she was much smarter than that while more calmer.**

 **Never thought that** _ **that**_ **would be the detail that turned my story from canon into AU xD**

 **Other update-related news, by the way. On the 20th-24th September, I will take part in a trip that is exclusively about being away from all technology and internet, meaning that I won't be able to write or publish chapters in that time. As such, there won't be an update on the Saturday that week (22nd September) and instead it will continue from the 29th.**

 **Also, I'm basing the Foundation layout from playing the game on the seed 'LoopZero', and some of the locations mentioned inside the story are actually in that map, such as SCP-914 stuck in a dead end right from the storage room and separated with the electrical field room. If you want to find it, just take a right and follow it, you can't miss it.**

 **Moreover, that last situation is one that actually happened to me during gameplay. SCP-106 popped on me and I had to navigate out of SCP-914's containment chamber, with SCP-173 in the electric room (I really need to google the name of that room, lol). I had to move fast, while keeping an eye on good ol' Billy, activating the field and finally moving past him with SCP-106 breathing behind my back.**

 **Fun times.**

 **So much for shorter Author Notes.**

 **Next Chapter: 25th August, 2018**


	4. Chapter 4 - Helen

**AN: Nothing much to say here.**

 **Moving on with the chapter.**

* * *

It all happened too fast.

I was just about to activate the electrical field so all three of us could run away and continue trying to escape.

My mind briefly flashed through all of the possibilities that would happen had I not died.

I'd have probably talked Sunshine into another brainstorming session, to calm her down and to try and figure out what to do next. Steve would have probably gotten lucky again and found something that would put my observational skills to shame, which he'd then top off with some random cowboy catchphrase.

I missed them already. Call it the stress or whatever, but I felt so much better when I knew that I wasn't the only one.

When I wasn't alone.

Nothing to argue about, then.

I got up from my bed and looked around the stale white room, determination in my eyes.

I'll just have to save them again, but this time, we'll all escape together.

I'd make sure of it.

My feet raced across the ground as I sought to widen the distance between myself and the Old Man, Steve following behind me.

We were running towards where I knew Sunshine would be, but I decided on a faster route this time.

Time was running short. We needed to move fast.

"You're going too fast!" I heard behind me, but I paid it no mind. He'd catch up, like he did previously.

I rounded a few corners, before coming in the tesla coil hallway. I navigated to the other side of the room just as the doors opened.

"Not so fast, girl!" I then positioned myself in the middle of the room and ground my feet to the floor so she slammed into me. I managed to hold my ground, and she was knocked backwards.

"Oof!" She grunted and fell. I offered a hand up.

"My apologies, madam." I smiled reassuringly. "If you continued running there you'd have been electrocuted by the tesla coils. Can't have that now, can we?"

Sunshine looked at me, then at my hand. She slowly took it.

"T-Thanks, I guess."

"No problem." I then turned around to introduce-

Steve wasn't here. My eyes widened.

Where was he!?

And where was the Old Man?

"Steve!? HEY! STEVE!?" I shouted.

"W-Who's Steve?" I turned to look at her fearful face.

"He's a good friend. I must have left him behind in my hurry. Let's go and find him."

/*/

We searched around for a bit but there was no sign of him anywhere.

Neither of him or the Old Man.

"Damn it all! Where is he!?" I cursed as we moved. Sunshine kept to the back.

Huh... she was usually more vocal than this.

"A-Are you sure your friend... exists?" She started but her voice lowered fearfully as I turned to look at her.

"He exists, Sunshine. He's the janitor, but he's also a really nice guy. Had a farm once." I recalled as I turned around and started to move.

Outside of my eyesight, her eyes widened. She gulped audibly.

"He must be around here."

We found ourselves in the elevator room.

I opened the next door before I heard running behind me. I turned around and panicked, before I took note of the situation.

Sunshine was running away from me.

Towards the elevator. My eyes widened.

"DON'T!" I shouted.

The moment she was in, she slammed the button and gave me a terrified look. The doors closed as the elevator started going downwards.

I slammed into the elevator doors a moment afterwards.

"NO!" Goddammit, why did she do that?

And why did she look so afraid of me?

My mind worked hard to fill the blanks, and when it did, I groaned.

"She never told me her name this time..."

Not to mention that, in the last loop, she was skeptical about me due to his status as a D-Class.

What went wrong this time?

The answer was immediately clear.

Steve wasn't there to diffuse her suspicions. And I've just made it worse.

Damn it. I slapped the red elevator button repeatedly before I heard the elevator go up.

I hoped that she would still be inside, but even then, I knew it was moot.

The elevator doors opened. They were empty.

"Damn it!" I said, then stepped into the elevator, and clicked the button after a brief pang of terror.

The terror kept growing as I went down, images of that... _thing_ running at me etched into my memory.

Oh, why do I do this to myself?

Halfway through the ride, I heard a _very_ high-pitched scream.

It was a familiar one.

 _Am I too late?_

No! I promised myself that I would save them and that's-

The elevator doors opened.

In the corner of the room, just at the end of the hallway past the elevator, a body was being eaten.

 _Her_ body. The monster bit through her stomach, leaving a hole in it. Guts dangled from its jaw.

"No..."

Bile rose up within my stomach.

At that moment, I saw the beast's head snap up.

"W-Who's there?" And it used _her_ voice. Probably her last words.

I couldn't take it anymore. I clicked the red button before vomiting all over the elevator floor.

I breathed heavily with my mouth, trying my damnedest to purge the visions of what I saw just now from my head.

I _wanted_ to think about it, that I'd save her the next time...

But whenever I thought of her, I thought of that corpse, and the guts-

My stomach promptly started feeling uneasy and my throat tightened.

M-Maybe later...

The elevator doors opened, and I stepped outside.

An outside viewer would have said that I looked just a tad more broken if they'd seen me before and after exiting the elevator.

However, nothing of the sort was on my mind right now.

Steve. I had to save Steve.

I made my way to the place where I thought Steve would most likely go after we got separated.

The storage room.

As I was moving there, though...

I heard the familiar sound of the Old Man's black substance ooze into the-

The ceiling?

A body fell through. Ah. This must be that scientist that-

Air left my lungs. Badly scarred and decayed horribly...

Steve plopped on the floor, dead.

My guts churned inside me once again as I approached the corpse.

I closed his open eyes, willfully ignoring the decay that spread lightly on my fingers.

Then I closed my own eyes.

"I'm sorry, Steve... Next time... I'll definitely save you."

With heavy steps and an even heavier heart, I moved on away from Steve.

I took solace in that I'd be the only one to remember this, and the only thing _they'd_ remember was escaping with him.

/*/

Oh, come on!

Another master card?

I growled in frustration, doing the already repetitive movement once again. Take card, put in the left compartment, set it to 'Very Fine' and pulled the knob, then wait.

So far I haven't managed to get anything past a level two keycard. How hard could it be!?

After some time I finally managed to get a level three keycard, but before I could throw more keycards in the machine, the Old Man started to appear.

"Oh, come on! You couldn't wait just a few more seconds?" I ran up to the door and opened it, feet ready to run in the opposite direction as I stared at him, unimpressed.

"That is _so_ rude."

The Old Man actually stood there for a second, looking baffled. His face soon contorted into one of sadistic glee.

"Man, you ought to go to a dentist once. I think you've got a cavity right around-" I pointed to the side of my mouth, relishing in the way his grin fell. "-here." I finally grinned. "It looks a little _rotten_."

It was a petty and senseless thing, but from what I'd seen of the creature, I realized that he wanted you to fear him, to take him seriously. He wanted to feel like the predator.

And regardless of my crappy humor, I've achieved what I wanted.

All with the minor side effect of him being angry.

I bolted out, expertly side stepping the electricity before waiting on the other side, after I made sure that the door in front was closed and no murderous statues were popping up anytime soon.

"You know, there is one thing I don't get about you." I started as the Old Man entered the room. "You always _walk_ , and unless I'm blind, you have two perfectly good legs."

The Old Man continued walking.

"Oh!" I said loudly, as if I came to a realization. "You're like an old man, right? They can't really run or do much of anything, right? That's why you walk, right?" I made my voice as annoying as I could possibly make it.

It seemed that was the final straw for the Old Man. He reared one leg back and started running towards me, anger etched onto his face.

That put me to shock alone but I willed myself to stay in place for just one moment-

The Old Man got electrocuted again.

"You must have the brain of an old man, too." I mused, as I watched him retreat.

The Old Man stilled for a split second and I saw him giving me-

Holy shit. That look was nothing short of horrifying.

Oh well, I thought as I turned away.

That was almost certainly a bad idea and he would be gunning for me a lot more.

But, for once, he actually felt... he didn't feel _good_ , per se, but as if justice had been done.

It was the least he could do for Steve right now...

/*/

I came across a glaring problem when I tried to discover new locations.

Namely, I ended up in front of doors leading to the heavy containment zone. It looked more and more like I'd need to go through it to escape.

I was in front of one such door now, though it wasn't the usual sight that greeted me.

Unless you count waving teddy bears from the other side of the glass as usual.

This teddy bear was unusually cheery and it made me feel better. As if they weight of the world lessened just a tiny bit on my shoulders.

I remembered that I saw a picture of this teddy bear from a leaflet which I picked up. Seeing as I had nothing better to do currently, I decided to read up on it. Information was power, after all.

As I read, my stomach started to churn, reading what the other SCP-1048's were made of, and what would happen if one of them (The one made from ears, blech!) screeched.

I was suddenly _very_ grateful that I ran before and, of course, reminded of the perfection that is my doctrine.

Maybe I'll write a book some day about it.

Useful classifications here as well which support his theory. Safe, Euclid and Keter.

So Immobile, Immobile and Mobile.

I nodded, convinced by my own logic.

And then promptly made my way from the room. I did _not_ want to be in that room and tempt fate further.

/*/

I came across a 'Security Room' and, after a brief test, it turned out that I could get into it.

That was good. Maybe I'd find something useful, like a level four keycard.

Maybe even that Omnicard, though I doubted it.

Something told me that that was a _very_ special occurrence and that I won't be seeing it anytime soon.

Thoughts for another time and place.

I climbed up the stairs and looked at the empty room with extreme prejudice. This was precisely the type of room that could house untold horrors ready to rip your face off.

I came to a realization that, in fact, there was no one and nothing in this room due to it being closed off in the first place for anyone without a keycard. Which was basically everyone.

I spotted a room in the back, and saw a bunch of screens on it. _Score!_

I moved to them and started to observe the various monitors.

Most of the corridors I've seen were displayed here, and I could even see Billy on one of the cameras!

Before I could look at the each of the cameras for more detail, movement caught my eye on the cameras.

A robed figure with - was that a beak? - was walking down a hallway.

The hallway that lead straight into the security room.

 _Please don't go up the stairs..._

The figure turned left and went up the stairs. Of course he did.

I turned to look at the incoming threat approaching me.

The humanoid took a bit more time than I expected, but come it did.

It-

 _He_ looked _very_ much like a plague doctor from the middle ages.

He stopped directly in front of the surveillance room, and, very slowly, turned his head to look at me.

I gulped.

He did _not_ look inviting. The glowing eyes didn't help either.

A moment passed. We both didn't move.

Then he started to walk towards me.

I was already calculating how I should escape once the creature came inside the room, when he stopped in front of the table that divided us. He was a scant few metres away.

"Oh my."

I stilled. The voice was an eerie one, with an otherwordly echo present in it.

And it appeared as if there was a mind behind the word. The creature before me was intelligent.

That made him all the more scary.

"The Pestilence is here."

...

"The Pestilence?" What was he talking about?

He did look like one of those Plague Doctors that treated something that _could_ be called the Pestilence, I think?

Well, at least I had a name for him. It was pretty obvious what the dressing style here was.

"Certainly." He chuckled in a sinister tone and lowered his head.

Something...

Something about the way he was speaking caused an indescribable dread inside me to grow and fester the more I remained there. If there was any doubt before, it vanished at this point.

This was not a friendly creature, and he _would_ kill me if he got the chance to.

"...I can sense it within you."

Then he raised his head again, and looked me straight in the eyes.

"And it is my duty in life to rid the world of it."

Then he started moving to my left.

I moved to the right side of the table.

The Plague Doctor realized that I would simply run away if he continued on his current course and readjusted, going to my right.

Then I went to the left.

The same scenario happened over and over again and I quickly realized that he wasn't willing to risk letting me go.

Which meant I had to be a little more... creative.

And I had just the idea I wanted to test out.

I went to my left and feigned exaggerated surprise and relief, my eyes directed towards the exit.

"Oh, thank God! Help! Shoot him!" I yelled frantically.

The moment that the Plague Doctor turned to look behind him for the nonexistent threat, I speedily approached him.

Then I whipped out the gas mask I've found, took it by the filter canister and, when the Plague Doctor turned around, proceeded to bitch slap him using the gas mask with all the power I could muster.

There was a brief satisfying _thump_ as the Doctor's face snapped to the side and he staggered.

I saw the opportunity I've created for what it was and promptly sprinted away, arms pumping at the sides.

"You insolent _oaf!_ " The voice _roared_ behind me.

I slammed into the wall next to the stairs. It left a nasty swelling in my shoulder, but I ignored it and went down the stairs.

I had a brief flash of inspiration.

I opened the nearest door to my left and, after quickly scanning for signs of Billy activity, gunned it in the other direction.

/* Don't forget to take a break, relax, and drink some water! (Statistics show that failing to comply results in being infected with the Pestilence) */

Escaping him actually ended up working, and it was something I remembered for later runs.

You could fool a thousand people with a trick once, but you couldn't fool one person a thousand times.

Whoever said that obviously didn't account for time travel, though.

A glaring hole in the statement's integrity if I ever saw one. If the one person didn't _remember_ you fooling them over and over again, you technically _could_ fool them a thousand times.

Quite logical, if I said so myself. Just a bit of conceptual time travel required for your brain to return to the past required.

No biggie.

My musings were cut short as I noticed another chamber.

SCP-372, huh...

How bad could it be, really?

/*/

"SWEET MERCIFUL MOTHER OF CHRIST!" I shrieked for approximately the fifth time after blinking and seeing that _abomination_ writhe disgustingly across my eyesight before disappearing.

I knew better, though.

It was behind me. Watching me. Judging me. Seeking the best moment to enact its fiery revenge against the humankind for squashing so many bugs.

Or maybe I was going crazy. Either one was possible, really.

Oh, why did I have to go into that containment chamber?

It started off innocently enough. Once I went inside and noted no visible (Hah!) threat, thinking that the SCP contained here was already gone, I looked around the room and found a leaflet and a first aid kit.

Information was knowledge and I wanted to be best informed about the additional dangers of the facility, so I took and read the paper.

I then proceeded to shudder in horror at realizing that it's a 2 meter long, insanely flexible, _bug._ With eight limbs.

And it also hides behind your peripheral vision, so you wouldn't be able to see it.

As any normal person would, I hightailed it out of that place. Maybe if I were fast enough, I could escape it?

It was not to be.

As I was making my way over to another room, I blinked, and I suddenly saw it.

If I had to guess at its shape, I'd say it looked like am oversized praying mantis. That didn't alleviate my concerns in the slightest.

I was broken out of my musings by the door that opened in front of me. The Plague Doctor surged forwards like a herald of death, intent on my destruction.

At least, that's what I thought as I hightailed it out of there.

/*/

Almost exactly after I've finally evaded the Plague Doctor, the Old Man started rising from the ground.

As I ran in the opposite direction, I opened the doors to be faced with a statue.

It seems my screams of horror from the Peripheral Jumper attracted quite the audience.

Since there was no other way as the Old Man was closer now, I quickly made my way past the murderous statue and walked backwards as fast as I could, and, after I've closed the door, the chase was on again.

/*/

I was exhausted by the time I lost all of them.

Interestingly enough, it seemed that the Plague Doctor refused to 'work' with the other SCPs. Whereas Billy and the Old Man were hellbent on having my head, the Plague Doctor remained curiously absent from most of my fleeing.

At one point I even spotted him in the hallway to the left, but he simply stood when he noticed that I was still being chased.

Only after I've escaped the duo has the Plague Doctor began to actively chase me.

Perhaps this was his plan; To get me tired enough so I couldn't be able to run away from him, at which point he could 'cure' me.

Once upon a time, it might have worked.

The memories of horrors that happened flashed before my eyes, though, giving me newfound power to evade this latest threat.

I ended up in the containment chamber of the skull, where I was sprawled across the floor, panting heavily from exertion.

I wanted to read more about the skull while I was in here, but the paper appeared to be missing.

Maybe there was never a paper there in the first place?

Who knows.

After I've gathered a bit of energy, I stood up and surveyed the skull.

It didn't look that special, to be honest. There was some engraving that I couldn't really make out as it appeared to be scrubbed out at some parts.

As I got farther from the skull, though, the engraving disappeared.

Huh. That was interesting.

I decided to test out the keycard and, as it turns out, it worked. The door opened.

As I got closer to the skull I noticed the engraving appear once again.

It looked more like a language. It looked like Arabian (Or was it Arabic?) to my inexperienced eyes, but what did I know.

I was no linguist, after all. I was a-

...What was I again?

Frustration took over. I _almost_ remembered! I could _feel_ the memory inside me. It was there.

I calmed down and focused on the situation, as has become the norm for me lately.

You couldn't think about all the horrors you've been through if you have to pay attention to the situation...

I wanted to see if there was anything written in the back.

I touched the skull with both of my hands, intent on turning it around and inspecting it.

Then the world shifted, and I no longer existed.

/*/

 _Viktor Friedhelm, Second World War_

I hated this.

I hated everything about it, and yet the paper in front of me just sought to taunt, to actualize the devastating reality that he was in.

For my life I had but minor expectations. I had decided relatively early on that I would try, at all costs, to lead my wonderful wife away from Germany, to start a new life somewhere where I didn't have to worry if the blood in my veins would get me or my beloved killed.

Alas, it did.

I should have seen it coming. If only I had seen the signs for what they were and told her not to go, then maybe it would have been different...

But recently he found out that his wife had been taken to a concentration camp. If it were not for his good friend Schmidt, he'd never have found it out.

They took her away when she tried to protect a jewish family. I always knew she was cross, the anger simmering beneath the surface, yet I never thought that she would go out there, alone.

Maybe she didn't plan it? She was always idealistic and had a brighter future in mind. The optimistic attitude is what I loved so much about her, and I in turn grounded her and gave her a direction.

Just as she had once given me.

 _I'm sorry, Helen... I wish I could have been there..._

The door opened. I could see one of the Nazi officers that I've come to know around these parts stand there, face set in a tight frown.

"Friedhelm, come." The officer said simply. He seemed more cold, distant... judging. As if observing some lower creature that didn't deserve any sympathy.

Well.

Viktor got up, knowing that resistance was futile. I could connect two and two in this situation, knowing that my wife had been taken already.

"What's the occasion?" I felt like asking.

Not that it'd do me any good.

"Just follow me. You'll see." He answered briskly. He was usually a lot more talkative and willing to share his knowledge, providing more context and life into the world around him.

Now it seemed as if the opposite was taking place.

He didn't say anything as I followed and, in turn, I didn't speak.

Perhaps it was best for the both of us that way.

/*/

Pure, unadulterated rage boiled through my veins as I desperately ran away.

How _dare_ he!?

At first, there was silence. Then, he started talking, seemingly about trivial things but it soon revealed its ugly face as he started talking about _filthy_ jews.

That was okay. I could handle that.

Then the fool happened to mention that he heard my wife was going to a concentration camp, and what a _shame_ that was.

So the son of a _bitch_ said that at least he made sure she was on the train to Auschwitz. It was 'the least he could do for such a degenerate'.

I promptly slugged him in the face. Knowing that the trained man was both stronger and faster than I, I ran away.

I was panicking wildly, my mind in no state for coherent thought until, as it always did, Helen's voice resounded in my head.

' _Breathe in the light, and breathe out the darkness.'_

At first, the mantra in itself did not help me, but it always served to conjure up the wonderful memory of the first time I've attempted it. Namely, Helen's amused chuckles at my obviously failing composure.

It was the conjured visage that served to relax me, and, in time, the mantra became synonymous with Helen, giving me strength and peace of mind when I most needed it.

This was such a time.

My calmer mind formulated a plan. I would take my most treasured belongings and drive away, wherever I could.

Where, I didn't know, but I wasn't going to give up.

Fate was not on my side, it seems, for as I rounded into a door leading outside, I saw the officer standing there, a vicious snarl on his face.

He had a gun pointed at me.

The world went white.

/* Entspannt euch und trinkt ein bisschen Wasser! Es kann euch nicht schaden! */

I tried to hold in the screams of pain that bubbled inside me as my other leg was broken.

"How do you like that, you jew!?" He said it as if it was some kind of an insult, a degradation of one's being.

I spat in his face, empowered by the thought of my wife past all the pain and agony.

He then slapped me hard, the force being heard across the room.

He stepped back. Blood flew from my mouth.

"You know, I had this feeling from the beginning. The others said: He is one, he looks like one." He chuckled. "Yes, Viktor. Well now I know it for sure. You're a German and a jew."

I heard the sound of a gun being cocked and lifted my head meekly to see a gun pointed at me.

"Sleep well, jewish trash." Were his final words before he shot me multiple times.

" _Helen_..." Was the last thing that breathed out of my lips and my mind.

Viktor Friedhelm was no more.

/*/

 _D-9341_

I jerked myself up from my position in the floor.

"Helen...?"

Where was I? Where was she?

Just what in the blazes was going on?

My last memory was being shot by that _scum_ and then-

My eyes widened.

"Wait a second..." I whispered.

I slowly turned to look upwards, my eyes resting on-

The skull.

No... Just wait a second.

I shook my head, trying to dispel the truth that lay before me.

My whole life in Germany, my family, _Helen_...

And then it suddenly made sense.

All those memories... Mine and Helen's first meeting, when she came into the new store I opened... The countless deals I've made with people, working as a shop owner with a particularly keen eye for detail...

Those and more weren't mine.

All of those belonged to Viktor.

My mind refused to accept the reality. How could it be _his_ memories when _I_ was clearly there!?

It was my life, family, my beloved... all through _my_ eyes!

Or was it through his eyes... ?

Is this what the skull did? Forced you into seeing another person's life as if it were your own?

That was horrible. I breathed heavily and my mind was dizzy, though that was the least of my problems.

An overwhelming weight settled on my shoulders, coupled with a great depression knowing that all the years until my death were not mine.

29 years... A whole lifetime, and it wasn't even his.

Something cracked within me. I held my head as I started groaning, the overwhelming emotions raging inside me. I couldn't think past the orchestra playing in my head, and I just wanted it to stop.

I started trashing wildly, the culmination of all the previous horrors I've been through building up until I couldn't handle them any longer.

I broke down, crying and trashing around for who knows how long before I finally stilled, at which point I went in a state of apathy.

For the longest time, I just laid there with my eyes closed, until, suddenly-

' _Breathe in the light and breathe out the darkness.'_

My eyes flew open as I instinctively breathed in. It was _her_ voice.

Despite never having met her personally, I still had all the memories and life of Viktor, and, to me, I _was_ Viktor once. Some might disagree, but they haven't been in my- _his_ head the way I have.

What he thought, liked, disliked, lived and died for, I didn't just know.

I _lived_ it.

Viktor Friedhelm, an innocent victim in the second World War, a loving husband, a shrewd negotiator with a particularly keen insight into details, an occasional writer and so much more...

He lived on inside me. His memory, _all_ of it, was a very real part of me that I'd never forget.

And despite everything I've been through, I found that I didn't regret it.

To regret it would mean to admit that I didn't _enjoy_ the life that I had lived inside him. But I would just be lying to myself.

So I just laid there. I let the emotions rage inside me as I breathed the way Viktor always did when he was disturbed, the mantra as powerful to me as it was to Viktor.

I fell in a deep trance, the thoughts previously raging in my head calming down, with nothing left.

Only _she_ was on my mind.

I only noticed as much when I came out of the trance, and _that_ happened because the door opened.

The plague doctor stepped through, and I could see him looking at me.

"There you are." He started ominously.

Even before I rose, I understood that the situation was hopeless. Nevertheless, a distant memory made me remember just how I escaped the Plague Doctor in the first place, so I whipped out my trusty weapon.

The gas mask.

"Stay away." I warned futilely.

He recognized it too. He chuckled and started to advance, holding out his hand in front of him.

"Do not be afraid. I am the cure."

I screamed.

/*/

I didn't wake up in my bed like I expected to.

Rather, I was walking around the empty facility.

Everything was blurred and dizzying. It felt like I was in a dream of sorts.

I also couldn't control my body.

Perhaps that was the first thing that _should_ have popped up in my mind, that I was obviously moving across the facility without being conscious of it.

All of my efforts were pretty much useless, since I still couldn't control my body.

Suddenly, a group of three armored people with guns came around the hallway.

"Is that a zombie?"

I tried talking to them and tell them that _no_ , I wasn't a zombie, but it didn't quite come out right.

"Uhhhhhhh..."

"Yup, that's a zombie." One of them confirmed.

"Wanna see how it looks when all three of us shoot it at the same time?"

Hey, wait just a sec-

"We're breaking protocol by doing this. We should just dispose of it efficiently." The one in the middle spoke. He seemed to be the leader and the voice of reason.

Thank God. And here I was worried for a second.

He cocked his gun.

" _Should_ being the keyword here, lads. It's not breaking protocol if no one knows about it."

Oh, come on!

"I can get behind that." One of them said before all of them leveled their guns at me.

I mentally gulped.

"Eat lead!"

* * *

 **And then Teddy Bear chan jumps in front of the bullets for D-9341, who, devastated by this loss, ascends to his Nine Tailed Bankai Super Saiyan form, which lay dormant in his weeb genes for generations.**

 **What happens next? Find out in the next episode of Dragon Ball Z!**

 **A bit of a shorter chapter this time around, on account of an especially grueling week and some writer's block (Due to my own lack of information), and the demand might get even worse from now on.**

 **Hopefully I'll be able to write the same quality of content faster once I get better, which might make the chapters stay at this length.**

 **In other news, I'll also have to replay the whole game just to remember everything that's inside it and to inspire myself. Fun.**

 **I do this to myself for you guys.**

 **As always, hope you enjoyed.**

 **Next chapter: 1st September, 2018**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Here we go.**

* * *

It was a surprisingly nostalgic experience, waking up in this room once again.

Which was strange, since I didn't _know_ about the room in my time as Viktor. Must have been the large time gap, then.

I took a moment to look around the room, the stale whiteness of it somehow bringing back distant memories, even though I've technically been out of the bed for a few hours.

Well, _technically_ , the last time I've been to the bed is yesterday to everyone else, so it'd be a very technical normal day-night cycle I've had to any observer.

Well, _**technically**_ **-**

I shook my head, stopping that train of thought before I got too deep into the rabbit hole. That way lay semantic madness.

Another strange thing is that this was the first time I've died and have _not_ thought about my previous death immediately afterwards.

The curious notion ironically got me to think about it, though.

Against all odds, I somehow didn't _feel_ the bullets, which was a _very_ welcome reprieve in comparison to my previous experiences.

The worst thing was probably the Plague Doctor's touch. The pain was the neurological equivalent of your entire body being dipped into scalding hot water, except the water was actually acidic.

It lasted only for a short moment, though. I fainted (or did I die?) afterwards.

I mentally shrugged.

Oh well, there was nothing I could do about myself dying again except learn from it.

Besides, regretting that death would imply that he regretted touching the skull, which he didn't.

It was Viktor's experience that allowed him to shrug his latest death off so casually. He always had a knack of coming back from distress, in one way or another, and there were no few occasions where Viktor was done wrong, by the world or its people.

The thing about Viktor was that he always searched for a _meaning_ to his suffering. It was clearer to him than it was to most people that ideals, or _meaning_ to one's existence, is something one would even die for to uphold.

Take many wars, for example, with soldiers marching onto the battlefield, ready to die for their country. The history is packed with those kinds of scenarios.

What was my meaning, though?

That was simple. I might not have had a meaning before touching the skull, but now I had one.

I wanted to enjoy life. And damn if it wasn't that simple.

Although...

Flashes of memories came to me.

Steve... Sunshine...

I shook my head. A conflict was rising within me once again.

I _wanted_ to save them.

The thing is, I don't think I could handle watching them die, over and over again. Would it not be smarter to figure out how to escape first, then save _all_ of them in one final loop?

My heart still stung at the idea of leaving them to die, but I shrugged the feeling off.

It wasn't as if I was abandoning them. I was merely focusing on escaping so that _we_ could escape all the sooner.

Formulating it like that, my heart stung less.

/*/

It was harder than I thought it would be.

Usually, I'd employ the 'Out of sight, out of mind' strategy, but it just wasn't cutting it this time.

And it was because the only keycard I knew of was in the very same storage room Steve was in, with the upgrade being in the room next to it, which would eventually net me the level 3 keycard with SCP-914.

And that damned bear was still in that hallway.

"Now listen here, you little punk!"

Since I have nothing else to do, why not antagonize the bear?

Nothing wrong with that in my book.

"Where I come from, there is this thing called respect! And respect," I continued rambling. "Is _not_ in suffocating people with ears! That's just plain rude." I nodded, like a child satisfied with its own logic.

The bear just stared blankly at me. I wasn't sure if it understood me.

"Do you get what I'm trying to say to you?"

Blank stare. Nope, I wasn't getting through to it.

I opened the door behind me, making sure nobody was behind it.

Well, time for a more hands on approach, no?

"I'm _saying_ ," Then, in a flash, I sprinted to the bear and rotated 180 degrees on my left leg, using the momentum to propel the right leg.

Straight into the bear.

"Move, _bitch_ , get out the way!"

I have to say, it was probably the happiest I felt, seeing the bear fly a graceful yet mighty arc into the room I opened behind me.

I probably wasn't dead because I caught the bear off guard and thus had no extra ears to account for.

The bear seemed intent on remedying that, as he started stubbing his way towards me.

 _Nope!_

I ran there and closed the door before he came inside, then ran away to the other side.

An ear piercing shriek resounded from the door.

I felt a momentary pang of terror. It was quickly abated when, after a moment, I wasn't showing any signs of growing ears.

A good sign in his book.

This was the hard part, though.

I whispered a quick apology for Steve and went into the room. If I recalled correctly, they couldn't hear me until I started shouting for them to get away.

I silently made my way over to the closets, and grabbed the paper and keycard.

I was planning to exit before the blackout occurred but luck was apparently not on my side this time. The lights shut down and I was in total darkness.

I heard the sound of bone twisting and bodies dropping before the light turned back on.

I cursed, feeling terrible about this. I _know_ it's for the greater good, but it didn't stop being any less painful to go through.

' _Breathe in the light-'_

I instinctively started breathing more deeply as the mantra's effect took hold.

' _-and breathe out the darkness.'_

It was better not to think about it, I decided.

I went to get the level two keycard and go make myself an upgrade.

/*/

It was a bit more of a hassle than I expected it to be, I thought as I automatically worked on getting the level three card.

I don't know what I was expecting, though. For Billy to magically disappear in the maximally two minutes I took to go get the card?

Ha. If only.

It only complicated things when Billy started following me, and I knew he was waiting somewhere outside the chamber door nearby.

Which meant I'd be double-teamed by him and the Old Man again.

Great.

Not to mention that I also pissed off the teddy bear, so he might be on an active D-hunt as well.

I mentally snorted at the immature joke I made in my mind. D-hunt.

That's a keeper right there.

 _Oh!_

A level three one, finally. Now I could go, preferably before the Old Man comes.

Although...

I looked at my gas mask, which I always picked up on the way to the storage room. It looked like it could use an upgrade, my mind reasoned.

Well, nothing bad could come out of it. I chugged it in, set it to 'Very Fine', then waited.

Perhaps obviously, I got a gas mask at the end.

I inspected it, looking at any angle that might show that there's something different about this gas mask.

Seeing nothing obvious, I decided to put the mask on and see if there was any difference.

My eyes widened comically. Holy shit!

The air was so _clean_ , as if I were outside. I could also smell nature, and the dim fragrance of flowers.

Heck, I could feel _wind_ on my face!

I also felt way more energized than before. It felt as if this new air I was breathing was also _charged_ somehow, giving me energy and concentration.

This- This was amazing. I feel like I could run a thousand miles!

I started to make my way outside and, predictably, Billy was there, looking quite dedicated to becoming a mummy as a full time job.

Well, either that or a strangler.

Maybe both? It _could_ be an undead, vengeful human's spirit that's possessing the statue.

I realized that I had become overconfident around Billy, not deeming him to be as large a threat as the other SCPs.

I was harshly brought to reality when, before I closed the door, I blinked.

The doors attempted to close, but they couldn't.

One very murderous statue stood there, hands _very_ close to me.

With the terror came a newfound appreciation for SCP-173 as something that _would_ kill me, given the chance.

It was a long time ago that I called it SCP-173. It brought a sense of nostalgia, but also a sense of that first-time horror born from inexperience with it.

It seems that the opposite had its own disadvantages. The abundance of experience I now possessed in dealing with it led me not to be without fear, but become complacent.

Well, a mixture of that and the gas mask's effect. It made me feel confident and positive in a way I haven't felt before, as if I could take the whole wide world for myself.

I needed to learn to temper that, lest it got me killed.

/*/

But _man_ , could I run now! I've been running around the facility, and I wasn't even getting tired!

Gas mask is best mask.

I went, against my better judgment, to the surveillance room. I wanted to check something out that's been bugging me a bit lately.

It felt as if I missed something important there...

Well, if this was all for naught, at least I could still whack the Plague Doctor with my gas mask.

...When I think about it, that alone is reason enough to go.

Once I reached the room and took a proper look around, I immediately noticed something that I missed in favor of the surveillance cameras.

Namely, two levers.

One had its handle torn from the socket, rendering it useless. The other, though still appeared to be functional.

I read the signs nonchalantly before becoming anything but.

I-I could lift the lockdown from here!?

Not completely, with the broken lever, but at least I could open the lockdown from the light to the heavy containment zone! That was much more than I had before!

It was good that he trusted his intuition-

' _-aaaand I can hear breathing behind me.'_

I ran behind the desk, thankfully not being too late in my reaction.

Serves me, though, for spacing out in the one place where spacing out literally gets you killed.

And turns you into a zombie and bullet fodder, in this case.

The Plague Doctor was doing the weird 'Twist-only-my-head-scarily' thing.

And damn, was it scary.

I pushed on the lever from my backwards position, thus enabling me access to the heavy containment zone.

/*/

This time, I didn't slap the Doctor, as I really didn't need to, it seemed. I just ended up running away from him, as he seemed insistent on walking, much the same as the Old Man, whom I had to waste a bit of time dodging as well.

The Plague Doctor didn't strike me like the predator type that the Old Man was. He seemed more of a crazy scientist who genuinely believed that he was doing something good for the world (in his own twisted way), while the Old Man wanted to make apparent that he was the dominant species, that he was hunting the prey. Namely, you.

He enjoyed making you suffer and showing you that there was nothing you could do against him.

Unless you pissed him off, of course.

Well, I did nothing of the sort this loop. In fact, I would dare say the Old Man was _pleased_ to have me spending so much energy on running away from him.

Of course, I was spending next to none, but I wasn't about to tell him.

That mask really was overpowered.

Which brought me to stand in front of one of the doors to the heavy containment zone.

And coincidentally the one the bear was dancing in front of. In front of the window at least.

I glared at the bear, refusing to play a part in its machinations.

The teddy bear noticed this and, soon enough, stopped dancing and was watching me much the same way the one on this side did, completely still, as if sizing me up.

Then it tilted its head.

I ignored it and turned to the door. This was a completely unexplored area for me, and it felt like a new chapter in my way towards freedom was being opened.

With trepidation, I opened the door.

Nothing happened. I halfway expected death, chaos, murder and destruction the moment I stepped through the door.

Maybe I should stop being so paranoid?

Anyways, _this_ is where the heavy containment zone started.

I opened the door.

I was met with a grated hallway which led only forwards. The place was familiar for some reason, but for the life of me I couldn't recall how.

I recalled that it was the bunker-like layout that spurred the nostalgia, but not much else.

I stepped forward.

Well.

Nothing bad happened yet, so I'm _probably_ safe-

Just as my brain was running that thought, the Old Man materialized from the side of the wall.

Of course.

I backed out and was ready to leave the room and return to the good old light containment zone when the Old Man stood in the middle of the room.

He then looked to his left, at which point I crouched, trying to blend into the darkness. Maybe it wouldn't see me?

When he finally turned to look at me, I went rigid.

Then he continued forwards, into the right wall.

I gasped in relief. That was surprisingly intense.

I braced myself for the new, untold horrors that awaited me in this branch of the facility.

/*/

"Go away." I said for what must have been the tenth time, agitated.

The teddy bear I saw from the other side of the glass has made his way to me and wouldn't stop following me for some reason.

I was instantly on guard, more so once because I had the distinct feeling that the teddy bear just _didn't_ act like this towards anyone.

Which meant that I had somehow attracted its attention. Great.

I wasn't about to be caught off guard by it. I read that leaflet about it in full.

There would be absolutely no resting for me with this thing around. I'm not risking losing my body parts.

The only time I could imagine that happening and me _not_ dying was the skull, but I wasn't planning to be touching it anytime soon.

"You know what I did to your friend? I kicked him so hard he flew over to the next room."

A curious tilt of the head again. I had a feeling that the little menace was _more_ interested now than anything else.

"To you, though, I won't be as merciful."

"The moment I grab you, I'm going to take you to SCP-914 and put you in on the Rough setting."

No reaction. As if it didn't understa- Oh, wait...

"That means I'm going to destroy you. Painfully."

The bear did a comical gasp motion, and I kicked myself mentally for finding it funny. That's how it got you, and that's how it's gonna get me if I'm not careful

I sighed, realizing my fear tactics weren't a drag.

I entered a room resembling a balcony with smoke being exhausted in the air through the pipes.

Luckily I had my gas mask on. I was about to go through the door when I noticed a tucked off corner. Just out of safety, I decided to keep an eye on it for any errant statues that might come this way.

As luck would have it, that saved his life. Billy was tucked neatly in the perfect ambushing spot for unsuspecting wanderers.

I kept a trained eye on it, remembering my previous expe-

Something slammed in my leg and wrapped itself around it.

I stilled, muscles clenching. It took most if not all of my willpower not to stop looking at Billy.

What the hell was clenching for its dear life on my leg, though!?

I decided to backtrack through the already familiar way, and when I closed the door, I saw what was on my leg.

The teddy bear.

It had the audacity to even wave at me from its position before quickly grasping itself around my leg again.

That's it. I'm done.

I started to pry away the bear from my leg, but found that it had a surprisingly strong grip.

I would have tried more, were it not for the doors opening.

My reactions were what saved my life, most likely. I started backing away into the oldest chase of the facility I knew.

The affectionately named 'Billy wants the D'.

/*Don't forget to go outside and get your very own intake of Vitamin D! Everyone wants the D nowadays. */

The moment that he was feasibly sure he escaped the statue, the bear released its grip on my leg and started to waddle away.

"Oh, no you don't!"

It was surprisingly dexterous, but I managed to grab it.

"Well, well, now I have _you_ by the leg, eh? How does it feel?"

It was struggling a lot more than I expected a normal teddy bear like it would.

"We'll see how it feels." I turned in the direction of SCP-914. "Off we go!"

Then the bear hit me with both of its arms.

"Gah!" Holy shit! That hurt like hell.

"Grrr... you little..." I started walking towards it, but this time it literally _ran_ away from me.

Then it...

"Uh..." I was a little shocked at witnessing the teddy bear run like a human, ricochet off the wall and press a button to the door.

The paranoiac in my mind told me there was nothing behind the door.

The bear wasn't leaving, though. It was _still_ watching me, gauging my reaction and whether it should run or not.

Which means it still planned to follow me.

"Oh, come on!" I was getting really frustrated at this point. First it distracts me, then almost costs me my life, and it _still_ wants to follow me?

' _Breathe in the light...' '_

I took a big, slow breath, allowing my eyes to close momentarily.

 _...and breathe out the darkness.'_

And so I did.

"Okay, then."

"You're obviously going to keep following me. And _I'm_ going to keep following you because I can't have you opening the doors behind me."

"So I propose this." I spread my arms wide. "You _don't_ actively sabotage me, and _I'll_ not dedicate my uncertain life in this facility to destroying you."

"And the next time, I'm not dropping you." I added.

It took a moment, but the teddy bear-

Ricocheted off the wall again, and came into a backwards jump into kicking the button, after which it propelled itself from the button to land on the ground.

I stared. That felt very much like a call-out.

"You're _on_ , bear. And since we have an agreement, you're officially relegated to door duty."

Then I turned to walk away, trusting that my unlikely partner in this facility will follow.

/*/

Very surprisingly, the bear did close the doors. I really wasn't expecting it to do that, because the only reason the bear was with me was likely because it wanted something.

Wanted me dead, most likely, or at least my body. I didn't forget what it tried to do with Billy.

Well, it maybe thought I was going to run and wanted to be near me, although I doubted it.

So lull me in a false sense of security then get me killed? That made a lot more sense than the bear magically changing its nature to become my new friend.

And even though I played it off, the only reason that _I_ wasn't trying to kill the bear was because that hit _hurt._ If I actually tried carrying the bear and it got me like that, it could probably break my arms with enough hits.

Luckily, it didn't seem like the bear saw through my bluff.

Later on, another oddity presented itself that contradicted the bear's behavior.

Every time I had to run away from an SCP, it would latch onto my left leg. The only reasoning I could think of is to not get separated from me, because I'd probably run too fast for it.

It was nerve-wracking. It meant that there was a _reason_ that it wanted me alive instead of dead...

But what could it be?

/*/

This was just getting ridiculous.

Every time I tried going in through an entrance of the heavy containment zone, something prevented me from advancing.

The most often reason was a lack of access, with two doors straight up leading only to containment chambers which required level four access. Namely, an SCP-079 and SCP-106, which was apparently the Old Man.

Don't know what I'd want there, but it'd likely be nice to explore.

Next it was the Old Man himself. I went in the some underground tunnels through an elevator and, directly in front of me, the Old Man was rising from the ground.

Talk about a useless trip.

Oh, and he passed the Alpha and Omega Warheads door, which he did _not_ like the sound of. Also the only door that required level five clearance.

"I can hear you breathing."

Which brought him to his current standpoint. Namely, he was trapped in the intersection from the heavy containment side, with the Plague Doctor on the other one.

When can I finally get a break!?

"No, you can't." I answered pointlessly.

"Can't you, like, karate chop him into submission or something?" I asked the teddy bear.

It stared blankly at me, and I got a strange, nervous feeling from it. As if it was evaluating me somehow.

I don't know how I managed to gain this insight from a _teddy bear_ , but I trusted my instincts.

"Fine, don't help."

Since the corridors were too narrow and go in one direction, I'd normally have no chance of escaping the Plague Doctor.

Guess I'm going for the good old gas mask then.

Formulating my mind in my head, I prepared to open the door. I took a short look at the teddy bear, who was watching me from a distance, though it was close enough to the door.

I shook my head. Trying to understand that thing was an effort in futility at this point.

I opened the door.

"There you are."

The Plague Doctor walked straight at me. I backed away to the end of the room before, in a flash, I equipped my gas mask and, for the first time, once again, slapped the Doctor with all of my might, resounding in a mighty crack that could be heard across the room.

I proceeded to sprint towards the intersection doors, which were closing.

"The _audacity!_ " Is what I heard before I barely made it to the other side.

Phew. That was a close one.

I looked around and-

Yup. The bear was here. I sighed. Oh joy.

"Let's just go."

I started to roam the facility, the bear behind me, shutting doors.

I got the impression that my little stunt with the Plague Doctor pleased it greatly, but for the life of me I couldn't figure out why, and it was maddening.

Then, as I opened the door to a random hallway, I saw the other bear there.

/*/

For a moment, nothing happened. The bear made of ears looked at me, then at the original teddy bear, then at me again before returning to the teddy bear.

I'd need to make names for them, I realized.

I mentally kicked myself in the head. This was no time to get distracted.

Suddenly, _Teddy_ the bear approached _Ears_ the bear and they started making wild gestures to another. I assumed they were communicating.

I really wasn't sure what to make of this, but I knew one thing.

"He's not coming with us." I said.

The both teddy bears turned to look at me blankly. It felt like I was being admonished by their looks.

"I said no and that's final!" The looks continued. Teddy even crossed his arms.

"Oh, come on... He tried to kill me!"

I imagined that were some words to be said about a man having an argument with two sentient teddy bears and being on the losing side.

I didn't want to find out what those words were.

The two bears conversed silently once more, before both started to approach me.

I backed away instinctively. "Oh, hell no! I ain't growing any more ears than my genes need me to, thank you very much!"

Ears stopped on Teddy's signal once it realized this wasn't working.

Teddy slowly approached me, and I was content to allowing him as long as the other one stayed away.

Then it jumped and took a leaflet out from my pants.

"Hey!" Just what was it doin-

Teddy procured a pencil seemingly out of thin air, and gave it to Ears.

...What.

Just what was going on? This did _not_ feel natural at all.

Ears started to write and, once done, Teddy somehow propped it out to me.

'SORI' were the words written.

...

"Oh, for the love of- This makes no sense!" I finally lost it. I pointed at Teddy. " _You_ make no sense! Just what do you get from following me around? Your gig is stealing body parts and making new bears out of unsuspecting idiots who allow you to stick around, not..." I slowly connected the dots. "Oh."

The bears went curiously still.

"Guess you can't make a new bear with a body that's covered with ears, huh?" I stated more than asked.

Teddy shrugged, dropping the paper on the floor.

It made a bit more sense, but I somehow got the feeling it wasn't the full story.

Nevertheless, now I could breathe a bit easier, knowing that, while their full motives lay hidden, it certainly wasn't anything to benefit me and following around an almost certainly to-be corpse meant having dibs on the prize.

I sighed, before realizing that both teddy bears approached me and were standing _very_ close to me.

A sudden wave of panic washed over me, before I allowed it to drop down once I processed that I wasn't, in fact, dead and brimming with ears.

"Cheeky little buggers." I muttered, before walking past them.

The next hallway didn't look like one I was in before. For one, it had no keycards I could enter, but instead two normal doors, each opening in different directions.

I went on to explore the rooms for anything useful. There was a level 1 keycard, a 9V battery, another leaflet and an empty cup. I saw no reason not to take those

There appeared to be two separate doors leading into other places from this point. I opened one of those doors and-

I was faced with another hallway. I looked left and right out of it and, seeing no threat, stepped into it.

Out of curiosity, I went to open the next adjacent door. What were the odds that there would be _another_ similar hallway like this? Structurally and logically, it'd make so sense for that to happen, but I still checked for an end.

Another hallway opened past the storage room. I looked at it and yes, it looked to be exactly the same as the other hallways.

I looked at the two teddy bears following me. They also didn't appear to know what was going on.

I was inspired by a stray thought and I took out the leaflet I got and dropped it. The bears were observing me now, but I ignored them and went onward.

A leaflet was on the floor.

"A looping hallway..."

That's what it seemed to be like, at least, though my mind was doubting it.

The reason for which was simple. If all of the doors through which one would loop were open, then I'd be able to see a never-ending loop on both ends after opening one side.

I wasn't quite sure just why that detail was one that stuck out to me, but my mind saw it as a big difference. Maybe I was a scientist researching loops before becoming a Class D, I jokingly thought. Hah.

That'd be quite the punchline.

Nevertheless, I continued going for a few more loops until something strange happened.

I saw blood. Namely, on the ceiling. It was as if someone threw a bucket of it on the ceiling, except there was no blood on the floor.

I returned to the previous room to inspect this. There was no blood there.

I inspected my leaflets I gathered as I continued walking towards the blood-stained hallway, hoping that I'd find something on the hallway, though I half-knew it to be useless.

Wait... what was this...? I held up a paper which I was fairly sure I didn't pick up. It was too strange for that.

It was the words 'black' and 'white' looping in a sort of... spiral gestalt, if I had to name it.

I felt a strange, chilling sensation of suddenly being weightless, falling towards the ground as if I've fallen. I felt dizzy and lightheaded all of a sudden, and I had to prop my hand on the wall so I didn't lose my balance.

Just what was that?

Looking at the paper, I noted that there was a singular letter at the end, titled 'gray'.

I stood there in silence.

Whatever it was... it was something important. I took the time to fully memorize the paper's content in my mind.

The bears were currently next to me and Teddy was making gestures towards the paper. I gave the paper to it, before a door opened.

It was the door of the looped hallway I had yet to go through.

The both bears promptly attached themselves to my legs. I spared a brief surge of fear on account of Ears' proximity to me, even though I knew it wasn't going to kill me anytime soon.

A man stepped through.

He had black hair and sharp green eyes that focused on me instantly when he entered the room, the man ready to flee at the slightest hint of danger.

Then his eyes widened.

So did mine.

The man was a spitting image of myself.

"What-"

"-the hell?"

Then he looked at my feet, which had two very murderous bears on them, before his eyes widened in panic and bewilderment.

There was a moment of silence.

"It's not what it looks like... ?"

* * *

 **AN:**

 **"What is it like, then?"**

 **"You see, these bears have reformed! They are fighting to protect and uphold all of modern society's standards and moral obligations, truly! They are not dangerous at a-"**

 **A pocket knife fell from behind Teddy, who hurriedly picked it up and hid it.**

 **Teddy then whistled innocently.**

 **"... It's for self defense?" I tried.**

 **The doppelganger promptly ran away.**

 **WARNING: LONG AN!**

 **Hey guys. This is me expanding on the author notes from yesterday.**

 **Basically, on the chapter length, I had a really tough and busy week overall and on Thursday, I had a terrible cramp on both feet which lasted about an hour, which was a pretty terrible experience and had me dead for that day and the day afterwards.**

 **Then everything went wrong in Saturday, as it naturally ought to. My alarm didn't go off, meaning I had around two hours less to write.**

 **I was going to be busy from 10am throughout the whole day, so I really couldn't write any more.**

 **Then, when I return home, exhausted, I see that the majority of the content I wrote was simply missing. I was pretty pissed. Had to write up a quick ending and post it.**

 **Enough about me ranting, though.**

 **So there are a few aspects which I feel are AU for the game, but not necessarily the SCB universe that I've broached in this chapter.**

 **Namely, SCP-1048 working with our main character. Before I go any further, I'd like to state that I always read on SCPs before writing about them, to know what limitations I have with writing them and how I might bring in a more creative twist while not splitting the universe in half.**

 **Anyways, one of the reasons for SCP-1048 following the main character has been given in the chapter already to make it clear that I'm not pulling this out of my ass. No, they're not magically friends and/or potential harem waifus for our main character.**

 **The thing about SCP-1048 is that it's smart and manipulative. It managed to fool a whole facility for 7 months and use unknown means to create duplicates of itself.**

 **Knowing this, I think there is a very good reason why SCP-1048 would not only follow D-9341, but go as far as to convince SCP-1048-A to not murderize the human that kicked it across a room. Yes, the bear didn't magically forget about being kicked and it isn't a plot hole.**

 **"B-But DustyOldAttic!" I hear you yelp indignantly. "What could be so important to warrant so much support from SCP-1048?"**

 **That's up to you to find out. Maybe if you observed the main character from Teddy's perspective, you'd be able to glimpse just why SCP-1048 would insist on keeping D-9341 alive...**

 **"B-But DustyOldAttic!" You shriek once again. "Aren't all instances created by SCP-1048 extremely aggressive and we just don't know if SCP-1048 can control them? PLOT HOLE!"**

 **Well... you got me there. But we at least know that the bears can communicate, and I'd assume a hierarchy was taking place there, with SCP-1048 being the boss. This is obviously speculation, though, so you got me there. AU story confirmed.**

 **"B-But DustyOldAttic!" You persist. "Didn't SCP-1048 try and disrupt D-9341's concentration when he was with SCP-173? It even refused to get on the main character's leg when the Plague Doctor was blocking the intersection! This smells like a smelly plot hole to me!"**

 **Have faith, random perceptive reader. Every action SCP-1048 took was to promote the second, hidden motive I mentioned earlier.**

 **I'll probably write it down in a few chapters, but for now, as I said, just have faith.**

 **Oh yeah, the new guy who looks and acts exactly the same as our main character.**

 **Wonder who that could be.**

 **Maybe his appearance has something to do with an experiment ran in a certain SCP, where that whole scene was playing in... ?**

 **Next Chapter: 8th September, 2018**


	6. Chapter 6 - J C

**AN: This is the longest story from this chapter onward in the SCP Foundation Mythos.**

 **Yay.**

 **Doesn't feel like much of an achievement though, considering I'm literally the only person uploading weekly. It was bound to happen sometime.**

 **Even this story is still the last one that was updated in the community - a week ago xD**

* * *

 _D-3941_

The man standing before me looked completely lost, like he was debating whether to run, start asking questions, or ignore me because I was a figment of his imagination, spurred on by all the stress.

To be fair, I wasn't contemplating the last part.

The bears could obviously see him, and were just as confused as he.

The man took another step back, further inside the room he came from, and I widened the distance as well.

This could be another SCP... I should be careful.

He had a similar expression of paranoia and distrust.

"If I may?" I stilled, along with the teddy bear. It was his voice.

"You look like the reasonable sort. How about we talk for a moment? I'm sure nothing wrong could come out of that, hmm?" He smiled, looking as if he fully expected me to go in a mad frenzy and start chasing him at the mere sound of his voice.

"I don't know. I can't really recall a single instance where talking has solved any of my problems in this place."

He smiled. "Well said."

Then he sprinted through the door I came through.

I stood there, listening to the sound of his footsteps echoing until they stopped, most likely at the closed doors.

I walked to the middle of the room with the goal of keeping the Doppelganger in eyesight, just in case he returned.

He stopped and was looking at me.

"Keep your eyes on him. Hit me if he starts moving."

I then turned around to regard the door he came from.

Holy crap! It was like looking through a never-ending loop. I couldn't see the ending of it.

Does that mean this guy walked through all the way until here... ?

But why? What was the point? Who even was this guy?

I was hit in the leg briskly. I turned almost immediately.

The guy was approaching slowly, papers and apen in his hands. I wasn't quite sure what to make of this.

Halfway across, he stopped and put down the papers he was holding. He then pointed at it, making sure I was looking, then ran back.

He wanted me to take the paper?

"Teddy." I said, before both bears looked at me.

Oh yeah, I didn't tell them how I called them.

"You're Teddy, and you're..." I got a sudden flash of inspiration from my previous name. "...All Ears."

The teddy bears spared a look for each other. I had a feeling they were plotting my demise.

"Uh, sorry about the names...? But I need you to go grab that paper for me."

The bears didn't move.

"Are you serious...?"

They jumped away from my feet. All Ears then pointed towards the paper.

Teddy nodded along, crossing his arms for emphasis.

"Come on..." I sulked a bit with my head lowered but quickly regained my composure as I approached the paper, looking up towards the man who left it.

He was struggling to contain his laughter.

My eye twitched as I went to pick up the paper. This guy... !

I focused on the papers, making sure to keep an eye out on the man.

What was the world coming to when he could trust his back to two dangerous SCPs liable to kill him at a whim than a practically spitting image of himself?

The first paper I was familiar with. It was one of the bear, SCP-1048, and its earful buddy. There was handwriting on the bottom, a bit different but unmistakably mine.

 _They're dangerous. You're making a mistake staying with them._

Oh boy, if I didn't know that...

The second paper was more interesting. Much more interesting.

It detailed the hallway he was in. Its name was SCP-970.

I skimmed through the important details before focusing on the handwriting. My eyes widened.

 _This hallway leads to different dimensions with little differences. I'm guessing we're inhabitants of our respective dimensions who've crossed each other's paths through the hallway and are not liable to kill each other anytime soon. Truce?_

I took the time to read it again. I read the whole leaflet for info, and, when I was done, I started reading it again. Just to make sure.

"Oh, come on!" I could hear the guy's exasperation. That's what he got for laughing at me.

Although... I turned to look at the man, and then at the bears I've been trying to get away from unsuccessfully. The bears who're waiting for me about 5 hallways behind to return, and who probably aren't paying attention to the exact number of hallways between us. Not to mention that it'd take more time for them to open the doors than it would for me.

Meaning, if I closed all the doors between us and escaped with my even more unlikely comrade... I'd be able to escape the bears.

I realized I've been looking at the bears for too long so I started moving towards them slowly, with my eyes facing the increasingly frowning man.

I then turned towards the teddy bears, coincidentally at the end of the looped hallway.

I pressed the button. The doors closed as I gunned it in the other direction, towards the man.

I didn't take note of the man's expression as I gunned it, closing door after door in my approach.

When I reached the final door and closed it, I could already tell that the man wasn't here.

"This way!" My brief moment of terror at being fooled was extinguished when I saw that the man was merely one step ahead, holding one door open for me.

I ran to him, at which point we closed the door. I took a moment to gather my breath.

"That was something, huh?" He said to me. "For a second I thought you didn't trust me, but I sure wasn't expecting you to run away from them like that."

He paused for a moment.

"Is there a story behind that?" It was my turn to pause.

"How about we walk and talk at the same time? For efficiency's sake."

"Sure." We started walking around.

"You were saying?"

"Well..." I started. "I don't really get how it happened. The first time I saw the bear - the main bear at least - was on the intersection between the two containment zones, behind a glass panel."

"I guess I should have seen something was wrong when it just stopped and started staring at me." I shook my head. "Regardless, after I went in the heavy containment zone, the bear was there relatively fast. I tried telling it to go away, I threatened it, nothing worked."

"It displayed some pretty weird behavior afterwards too. I'm pretty sure it tried to kill me with Billy - " A hand motion of his interrupted me.

"Billy?"

"Yeah..." Was this the 'little differences' part? "SCP-173."

"Oh. I call it Crunchy. The more you know."

"Either way..." I waited to see if he had something more to say, but he motioned for me to continue, all the while we were vigilantly stalking the hallways in no particular direction.

"The bear jumped on my leg with a lot of force the first time around. I almost turned around, but I managed to keep my eyes on Billy.

After I escaped, the bear kept sticking on my leg, though not as aggressively or maliciously. It felt very unnatural, having the bear with me.

Then it really became weird when the other bear came, the one that makes you go ears. You see, at the start of the day I kinda kicked it across a room and it was pretty pisse-"

The guy started snickering. The snickering then turned into stifled laughter, and it looked like the guy was convulsing in pain with how he was bent around his stomach.

I frowned. "What?"

That appeared to be the straw that broke the camel's back. He started laughing loudly before I slammed a hand on his mouth.

"Do you _want_ us to be found!?"

He took a few deep breaths. After a moment of calm, he snickered again.

"I swear if you start laughing again I will-"

The door opened. The Plague Doctor stepped through and the man beside me relaxed.

"Oh, it's just you." He said.

"Just him!?" I mocked. "Mind explaining me something, dear friend of mine?"

"You do not have the Pestilence..." The Plague Doctor talked to him, indirectly answering my question.

"Yet you find yourself in blighted company. One that looks exactly like you." I turned to the Plague Doctor,.

"Now listen here, you big garbed sack of -" I started but I was sharply kicked to the side.

"Excuse me!?" I yelped, shocked. What was he doing?

He then spread his arms to his side, smiling for all the world like he's done this routine multiple times before.

"My dear Doctor, please excuse the impudence of the diseased one. He knows not the weight of the words he utters nor the actions he takes, for his mind is already riddled with the Pestilence."

The Plague Doctor took a moment to process this, and so did I.

"Mind filling me in on what's going o-" I asked before being interrupted.

"I see..." The Plague Doctor finally responded. "It seems I am with educated company, one that even knows of the Pestilence and its dreadful effects. Might I ask as to how you've come across the disease?"

"Certainly." The man next to me answered regally, somehow holding conversation with the Plague Doctor while I stood next to them, confused and ignored.

"You might not be able to tell by my clothing, but I was once an esteemed doctor and, much like yourself, whose work I have heard of but in rumors, I have dedicated myself to eradicating the Pestilence and all its putrid effects on the world. This, I have determinedly been doing..."

He suddenly looked incredibly tired, letting his face seep into a certain world-weary expression with eyes that told of a great struggle and unfathomable horrors.

And damn, if I was stuck on his little speech then the Plague Doctor was hooked, practically forgetting my presence in favor of listening to him. Was this another one of the differences between us... ?

"... because my family was wiped from the Pestilence."

There was a moment of heavy silence as he lowered his head, in which I was slowly starting to enjoy the absolute bullshit running from this man's mouth.

"First my father... then it spread to my mother..." He slowly rose to look the Plague Doctor in the eyes. The look in his eyes was dull, lifeless.

"They had to die before it spread to my twin brother as well."

Ooh, edgy plot twist. I liked it.

"My condolences. Rest assured that you have done the best thing for them." The Doctor actually sounded sympathetic while I was questioning everything I knew about the world as I watched this conversation unfold.

How did it come to a doppelganger of him telling his life story about a disease that doesn't exist to a Plague Doctor!? How!?

The other me nodded somberly. "Thank you for your kindness." I almost snorted. "You see, me and my twin brother were working at the facility here before my... good deed was found out, and you can imagine how these buffoons took my _mercy-_ " He practically spat the word. "-as."

"Barbarians, the lot of them." The Plague Doctor sneered, and I had to stifle my giggles actively. This was getting good.

"Quite." He agreed sardonically, but only I could tell because it was something similar we did.

"Except, my dear doctor... as you can see, I was too late for my brother, who has been consumed by the delirium already. However, to you, the one who can truly understand my struggles, I will reveal this..."

He lowered his head, closing his eyes. The anticipation was so thick it could be cut with a knife.

"I, too, was affected by the Pestilence." He said simply.

A moment of silence.

"E-Excuse me... ?" The Plague Doctor breathed out in what was barely a whisper.

"And it was also I!" He then suddenly raised his head, looking the Plague Doctor dead in the eyes. "I, John Cena, that has found a perfect cure for the Pestilence!"

I couldn't take it anymore.

I broke down laughing.

/*/

"Please ignore the diseased one. Much as I hate it, experiments are needed to see how the cure affects such a demented mind."

"It is of no concern. Do go on." The Doctor waved his hand, enthusiastically following the other me - Hmm, I'll need a name for him (John Cena?) - and then I started laughing uncontrollably once again as the Doctor pressed into details from... John Cena.

My mind knew bits and pieces of the actual John Cena, and it made the whole thing all the more funnier.

"You see, my good Doctor, the Pestilence derives from the bacterium Yersinia pestis, and, given around one to seven days in exposure, effects such as..."

John (Hah!) listed off apparent properties of the Pestilence in doctor jargon, all the while the Plague Doctor followed along, furiously writing notes on his papers.

"And how may we go about replicating the cure? If you believe it can be done in so short a manner to cure your brother... ?"

"I am positive, because, very luckily for us, the Cure is liquid in nature and thus susceptible to be replicated forevermore!" Before the Plague Doctor could question this, John (hrnk!) turned to him.

"Did you know that there is a machine - an SCP as they call it - that can manage to produce any known liquid in existence?" He paused for dramatic effect. "And since I have developed the _liquid_ cure..."

"You could thus procure it through this machine!" The Plague Doctor caught on soon enough, and I was actually paying attention to the conversation now, interested despite myself.

Does this mean that John found out this machine and used it to make a cure for the Pestilence? Even besides that, it seems my friend here has explored far further than I have.

John nodded. "Indeed. However, we will need to gain access to that area in the first place - and we would do well to hurry up. As I recall, this machine was in the entrance zone - and we need to do a few things before we're able to gain access to there."

"And what would those things be, if I may ask?" The echoing voice questioned.

"First things first, we need to get level 4 clearance. I can take care of that, but..." He pulled out a level three keycard. "Here." He gave it to the Plague Doctor as I looked on in shock.

Why did he do that!? _Why!?_

"Use this to access the heavy containment zone and navigate your way to SCP-008 and shut it down. I'm afraid I don't know where it is as I never worked there, but you should be able to find it and do it."

"Very well, I shall follow your expertise on the matter, my good Doctor. If I may ask, though... why is it prudent that we separate? I'd much like to learn about all the details of combating the Pestilence if possible."

Uh oh.

What if John doesn't have an answer?

I needn't have worried. John answered rigidly.

"Because standard protocol in a containment breach is for trained units to go in and reclaim the facility, along with containing every escaped SCP... alongside killing all errant D-Class personnel. Namely, myself."

"Speed is of the essence right now. Even if I may die... the cure must go on. Which is why I'm entrusting this to you. Let us cross paths once more at the beginning of the entrance zone."

The Plague Doctor nodded gravely. "Very well." Then, to my horror, he turned to me. "And what about this one? I can kill him, if you so desire."

Even before he finished, John was shaking his head.

"There is no need for that. He still hasn't forgotten me, which is why he is following me, but in case of soldiers shooting at me he'd make a great meat shield. If he's either going to be cured or released from his misery, why not let him be useful during it?"

He shrugged.

"It's what he'd want."

 _Oh, that son of a bitch._

The Plague Doctor nodded. "I see, then. May I just say, before we split ways, that your dedicated brilliance in combating the Pestilence will save countless lives and that I am pleased- nay, _honored_ , to have met a fellow practitioner of your caliber."

"And yet it is your work that inspired and lead me to go to such heights. If I am truly this good, then it is because I stood on the shoulders of giants."

The Doctor actually seemed to stand taller, his facial expression, or what I could see of it, practically preening.

"Well said... We shall hopefully meet again." He said, before he turned away and started walking.

"Indeed. May luck be on our sides." John said, before going the opposite way.

We walked for a bit in silence, before I started laughing at John's expression, which was periodically breaking down from a smirk, then into a grin, before followed by us both laughing like maniacs as we walked through the desolate facility, worries forgotten for once.

/* Now would be a good time to go and take a short break! Go get some water and rest for five minutes, and your day _and_ reading experience will be that much better! */

" _How_ did you manage to do that?" I asked as we were making our way to the Plague Doctor's containment chamber.

"I'm pretty sure I was _never_ such a good actor." I added. "Aren't there supposed to be minute differences?"

"Well," He started. "I'm guessing there actually _was_ a minute difference between us this time. After all..."

"I spent a whole lifetime living as an actor. After I dropped out of medical school at least." A whole lifetime? What was he- Oh...

"Ah." There was an awkward moment of silence. "I learned to haggle really good. And on German nonetheless!"

"Nice!"

"I have a question though." This was gnawing at me ever since that... display from him. "How much of that was the truth, what you said to him?"

"Well..." He paused. "You can guess that the whole family and you being taken by the Pestilence is bullshit. Practically everything else was bullshit, but some had bits of truth in them. For example, I never had the Pestilence to begin with, and there _is_ a machine that can dispense any liquid you type in."

He stopped for a moment. "I really hope, for yours and mine sake, that it also dispenses a 'cure', although I doubt it. To my knowledge, the Pestilence is nothing more than a neurotic illusion of SCP-049."

I noted the SCP designation for the Plague Doctor as I pondered what I was being told.

"We're so dead." I summed up.

"Not necessarily." He said, before he grinned. "The SCP I asked SCP-049 to contain is nicknamed the 'Zombie Plague'. I'm not sure how it would react with him, but I'm fairly sure it's not going to be pretty."

"Wait... you sent him to deal with some kind of disease?"

"Yeah, and judging from your reaction I can assume you haven't been... in contact with it."

"Not really, no. This is the first time I'm hearing about it."

"Well, here's a word of advice. Do _not_ , under any circumstances, go inside the containment chamber without a hazmat suit." He looked like he was going to be sick. "I learned that lesson the hard way."

Ouch... That sounded like _very_ good advice.

"I'll make sure to remember that. Tell me though... How close have you gotten to escaping?"

"Close. On my last loop I almost got to the Gate-A exit, before I was shot."

He sighed then. "There's a problem with my dimension, however. There are just too many soldiers going inside the facility, it's practically impossible to escape. Lo and behold, I already knew about the looping hallway so I made my way across the rooms. The things I saw were pretty crazy on the way here..."

He looked around the facility. "But this place... it's far less aggressive. The SCPs over at my end are just ruthless. Even the Plague Doctor wanted to kill me there, 'for experimenting', even though I didn't have the Pestilence."

That... sounds a lot worse than my experience, which is still pretty horrible.

During this conversation, we finally reached the Plague Doctor's containment chamber.

"There's the level four keycard." He said, before picking it up.

"Okay, let's..." I started, before seeing a head rise from the ground.

"Run!" I said, and to his credit, he didn't even hesitate before following me. We ran to the elevator, before slamming the button.

"What were we running from?" He said. I turned to him, surprised.

"You didn't think to check?"

"Well... it could have been SCP-096. Didn't want to risk it."

"Ninety six?" I didn't meet that one.

"You haven't really explored too much of the facility, have you?" He said, looking at me.

"I only explored until the heavy containment zone, which I got access to this loop."

"I see. Well," He grinned. "I can show you the ropes. Y'know, help you get better at surviving and all."

"Oh, wow... Thanks." I said, feeling immensely grateful. If he wanted to help me _not_ suffer painful, horrible deaths, then I will definitely do my part in being useful.

"Don't worry about it. Also..." He said as the door opened and I followed. "We should start thinking about a way for me to get back to this dimension. If my intuition is correct, our loops will synchronize and we will be able to work on escaping, together."

"Together..." I thought about it.

The thought of not being alone anymore... Of not having to live in oppressive silence, and eventually escape with someone who could actually understand me?

I grinned, a gesture he returned. "It sounds marvelous."

"Indeed it does."

/*/

As we were walking in peaceful silence, my mind turned to something else.

Or, more specifically, someone else. Sunny... Steve...

"Hey..." I said. He looked at me but let me continue.

"There are people in the facility who die, but I can save them, and they're good people. Once we learn how to escape, could we-"

"Forget about it." He cut me off, expression stern. My eyes widened.

"W-What... ?"

He sighed. "It's impossible. Even with two people, it's gonna be hard enough escaping the facility, and that's _with_ us having both information _and_ experience on our side. With them, however, We'd have to dodge the SCPs _and_ the units after us, with two clueless people who have no idea that the soldiers would shoot them, or of anything else for that matter."

I was shaking my head even as I listened to him, refusing to accept the logic behind it.

"But we have all the time in the world! Surely we should be able to manage-"

He interrupted me again, shaking his head. "You don't get it. There's just way too much obstacles-"

"So we convince them to listen! If they listen to us we can make sure they get out of it with us."

He was shaking his head much the same way I did before. "It doesn't work that way. Some things are just impossible." He looked at me straight in the eyes. "Don't make the mistake and force yourself to learn the hard way."

We stared at each other before I scoffed, looking away.

What did he know? He didn't know them like I did, and neither was he willing to try it out.

I didn't breach the subject, though.

Some things, you just have to try out.

"Now... Let's try and find the entrance zone and see if the good Doctor managed to close the leakage."

I went a little forwards in defiance, going into the next room alone.

Once I was inside, the doors closed behind me. When I saw that he wasn't following me, I panicked.

"Hey, what the hell!?"

"Uh, from the outside that looked like the small server room, so..." John spoke over the door before he went silent.

I did _not_ like this. "So... ?"

"OH SHIT, THIS IS THE SMALL SERVER ROOM!"

/*/

"O-Okay, what's that supposed to mean?" I heard panicked screaming as I finished the sentence. The sounds appeared to be coming from the window.

"Oh God... how did he get out?" I heard a panicked voice say.

I looked through the window situated in the small hallway.

I stilled. There was a tall, malnourished humanoid sitting on the floor, long thing arms cupping its face and shaking slightly, as if in anguish. I couldn't see its face from this angle.

"Oh no... I saw his face."

"DON'T LOOK AT HIS FACE!" I heard from the doors, and I promptly stopped attempting to do just that, but I still couldn't completely tear my eyes off the scene.

So this was SCP-096, huh...

It started shaking more wildly and erratically, before it started groaning. The groaning turned louder and louder, and there was a sound not unlike television static emanating in curious synchronization with the groaning, which slowly turned into screaming.

Very loud screaming.

"No, no..." To my displeasure, it seemed the small server room wasn't really soundproof, and I could somehow hear the panicked guard over the terrified screams.

Suddenly, the creature was on its feet, spread as tall as it could be, erratically waving its head with its arms atop it, as if something was driving it insane and it tried to futilely shake it off. The creature lurched into itself and I saw the guard who was speaking step into the room.

I felt a pang of pity for the soon to be dead guard.

It was like a switch. The guard opened fire on SCP-096 as the creature jumped and slammed into the screaming guard.

As if in a horror movie, the window I was looking through was immediately sprayed almost completely with blood.

As the screaming subsided, I finally noticed a constant hitting sound.

"Hey!? You still here!? Talk to me, dammit!"

I went and tried opening the door, but it was no use.

"I'm here."

A moment of silence.

"Dammit, man! Why didn't you answer before?"

"I couldn't hear you over SCP-096 screaming its lungs out. Talk about overreaction, am I right?"

"This is no time for jokes!" He said urgently. "You're in danger!"

"Sure thing, John Cena. I think I'll just wait it out until the doors open again."

A sigh of frustration. "Oh for the love of- Don't you get it?"

"...Get what?"

"You're stuck there! And the only way out alive is by going inside the small server room and-"

He suddenly stopped.

"And what?"

"SCP-106! I have to go!"

"Wait! What do I have to do!?"

"Good luck!" His voice echoed much more silently, indicating that he was already running away, and I couldn't hear much else besides that.

What was SCP-106 anyways?

Irrelevant for me right now, because I had bigger things to worry about.

Namely, the whole 'You need to go inside the room with SCP-096 inside it and figure out what to do from there, all the while not looking at it in the face thing.

Was this bullshit? Because it kinda felt like bullshit. Just how lucky did I have to be to end up in this situation?

 _Much more luckier than the guy who ended up looking at the bastard before realizing what's going on_ , my brain pointed out.

 _Touche_ , brain.

Oh well. I slowly started to make my way across the narrow hallway as my mind started whirring. According to John, I'd be able to get out if I went inside the room and did... _something_. Considering he called it the small server room, I assume there are controls I'll have to tinker with to get away.

What I _don't_ know is where the controls are, in what shape they are, and how I should operate them. All _very_ important factors.

I lowered my head and opened the door.

"HOLY SHIT!"

Thin and large albino feet were in front of the entrance. I stood still for a moment, wondering if I should do something or if it was too late.

The legs turned around and walked back into the room.

Phew. That was scary.

But it also gave me confidence, strangely enough. I at least knew now that looking at its feet directly won't cause it to go berserk on me, even though I basically saw all of its body bar the face through the window.

I slowly entered the room. I heard footsteps, but they weren't exactly in my direction, so I kept at the corners, listening to my intuition.

I came across a huge puddle of blood. It was freshly wet. I ignored it in favor of turning my head slowly towards the room, trailing my eyes carefully along it, looking for any clues.

I spotted a lever on one of the walls and, recalling the surveillance room, I got the impression that the SCP Foundation _really_ liked putting all of the important stuff on levers. Strange, but not inconvenient for him.

I made my way over to the lever at a sedate pace, not wanting to do something random that would piss the big guy off. There was a surprisingly peaceful atmosphere in the room, contrasted only by new and old splotches of blood.

I finally reached the lever and I pulled it.

Nothing happened.

Of course nothing happened. That'd be too easy.

Well, new plan from now on. Pull any levers and tamper with console controls until the doors open.

I was about to go inside a small room, before the same albino legs faced me. Before they settled snugly in the middle of the entrance.

Son of a bitch.

"Move." No reaction.

"I need to get in there. Could you please move?"

Still no reaction.

 _Oh, come on..._

I didn't want to do this...

I started to move slowly towards the entrance, keeping my head low. I put my foot over and behind the creature.

I gulped. Here comes the scary part...

I started making my way into the room, brushing against SCP-096 in the process, all the while the creature moaned creepily.

Ew...

I was in the room, though. Hopefully it was worth it.

There was another lever here, so I'll take that as a win.

Again, nothing happened. I tinkered with the controls for a little bit, but that proved fruitless as well.

As I was going outside, I noticed that SCP-096 wasn't at the door anymore.

I explored the room a bit more, not really knowing what I was supposed to do past flipping the levers. Everything else, including the consoles, seemed too complicated for me to be able to handle.

After some time, I found _another_ lever. Just how many levers are necessary for the door to open!?

I pulled it and I heard the sliding of doors opening. Finally.

I went through the other exit and-

Billy was on the other side. I almost didn't see him.

"How!?" I had to know. "How did you manage to get in the heavy containment zone without access!? You need a-"

I looked at one of its hands, eyes slowly widening.

It was holding a level four keycard.

"Oh, fuck me..."

Making sure I was looking at the statue, I took the keycard with a little bit of effort.

Looks like John didn't make it... Dammit!

I started to flee from Billy once again.

* * *

 **AN:**

 **AND HIS NAME IS JOHN CENA!**

 **Dead memes aside, kudos to Ribke for catching the references. Yes, those were intended, otherwise I'd be way smarter than I actually am by thinking out what is basically the concept of logotherapy.**

 **A bit more about the mistakes in Chapter 3 a bit below.**

 **About the bears. Some of you might have made your assumptions, some of you might have not. Regardless, I'm going to reveal them now.**

 **SKIP THIS PART IF YOU WANT TO FIGURE IT OUT FOR YOURSELF!**

 **So, you know how SCP-1048 hid in the Foundation and made bears out of different body parts? Going with the concept of it being intelligent, I'd think it learned the difference between different class personnel. This will be more relevant a bit later.**

 **With the containment breach suddenly happening, it presented an opportunity: Escape the facility, and eventually settle into a densely populated area.**

 **If the bear could evade trained personnel for so long, it would have a field day and a half with unaware civilians! Imagine all the bears!**

 **Lo and behold, our D Class comes in through to the heavy containment zone, somehow evading all of the horrors in the light containment zone** _ **and**_ **lifting the lockdown off of it.**

 **This presents an opportunity for SCP-1048. Follow this anomaly and observe him. If he ends up dying, just use his body for making another bear! The brain might be the best for this particular specimen.**

 **Otherwise, stick around him and, if he actually escapes, the bear's also out, and** _ **then**_ **it can kill the D Class if it so pleases. Either way, it's out at that point.**

 **THAT WAS BASICALLY IT!**

 **I'd like to add another thing, not necessarily concerning the story.**

 **I'm not planning to revise or fix the little mistakes in the previous chapters for the time being.**

 **This is largely due to two factors.**

 **First things first, if I focus on fixing up the previous chapters, it takes away the time from writing a new chapter.**

 **Secondly, it's because I don't have that much more time to begin with. I essentially wake up really early so I can write up the chapters to an acceptable level, which I have to then continue working on after my day, which leaves me exhausted.**

 **This also impacts the direction the story quality, for example. I'm not sure if it is noticeable, but I haven't been on SCP:CB in the heavy containment zone and have been relying on articles describing the rooms.**

 **This should change, and I'll start making some time for the game on Sundays to better get a grip of the structure of the facility.**

 **Once the story is done at a certain point, I'll probably revise the chapters and bring them up to par after a bit of time.**

 **Also, there won't be an update in two weeks due to that trip I mentioned a few chapters back.**

 **So after the next update, there will be essentially 2 weeks until the next one.**

 **As always, ladies and germs, I hope you enjoyed.**

 **Next Chapter: 15th September, 2018**


	7. Chapter 7 - Madness

As usual, things were intense. It didn't help in the slightest that the heavy containment zone had a lot of narrow pathways and even a broken wall with an SCP at one point.

In the end, I was forced to flee into the light containment zone. I absentmindedly noted that this has been the longest I've lived so far.

But wow, this place really was an architectural disaster. I've found, yet again, another part of the light containment zone I had previously not discovered.

This time, it was a big hallway leading in four directions, with the one behind me going into the heavy containment zone.

I went to my left. The door, surprisingly, did not lead into another hallway. Rather, it had a short and elongated corridor extending to my left that looked like the only purpose it would serve would be for Billy. Past the door that required keycard access of course.

It's like the facility was built around being chased by these things.

I snorted. As if. This was just a terrible building overall, no doubt about it.

I opened the door, deciding to take a quick rummage before returning to the heavy containment zone. I might find something useful.

A quick inspection later, and the room _did_ provide me with something useful.

"S-300 Navigator..." And, after a bit of fiddling once I figured out it was empty, I tried fitting the one out of two batteries I found right next to it inside it.

The broken screen flicked on a moment later.

"Crud..." I took a moment to try and gather my bearings through the incomplete and flickering map.

It appeared as if I was pretty close to the southeast corner of the facility, where SCP-914 was. I hoped as much at least, given how glitchy this thing was.

I appeared to have stumbled upon a particularly shoddy specimen of the navigator. Shame, since it could be so useful.

"Hm..." I wonder...

I pocketed the second battery, silently equipped the gas mask I had forgotten about, breathing in the suddenly more fresh air, before running towards the clockwork machine.

/*/

Once in there, I threw in the navigator and set it to 'Very Fine'. Hopefully it would fix the cracks and the screen wouldn't flicker as much.

I took the navigator out of the machine and turned it on.

"W-Woah!" What the hell was with this thing!? It had the whole map inside!

I also saw a wide red circle pop up with some text.

"SCP-173..." I read out...

Wait...

This thing can _detect_ SCPs!? My mind went dizzy for a second.

This- This was amazing! It would make my going around the facility that much more easier!

 _And it might help me find John, too,_ I thought as I exited the chamber.

I refused to believe he was dead until I saw it.

/*/

The map really was incredible.

I managed to figure out where Billy was on it and completely avoid him.

I went through an intersection to the heavy containment zone. I saw an elevator and what looked to be a containment chamber door that required a code.

I remembered the Old Man being on the bottom of the elevator, forcing me to go up.

Oh well. What was the chance that he was-

There was breathing behind me. Granted, it was _very_ quiet, but why was there breathing behind me?

I quickly turned around, expecting to see the Plague Doctor or _something_ , really.

I saw nothing.

And I could _still_ hear the breathing, once I focused enough. Right in front of me.

"Hmm..." I'm pretty sure the only reason I was able to hear the breathing was because of the increased mental clarity the gas mask gave me.

Were these the side effects?

Well, one way to find out. This was going to look silly.

I stepped forward and extended my arm with power, punching the air in front of me.

Imagine my shock when I felt my fist connect with the air. Whatever I was hitting, it was weak because I pushed it back, and I heard a thump on the floor.

I gulped, adrenaline flaring to life as I raced to the elevator. On the path there, I slammed into _another_ of the invisible things, which was apparently weaker than me, because I carried it slightly with my momentum until I heard another thump.

The moment I was in the elevator, I slammed the button and started punching the air around me.

Only when the elevator went down did I realize that the coast was clear, and that I was punching the air like an idiot for much longer than it was necessary.

Well... that was a thing. So now I have to watch out for invisible SCPs too, except they were... weak?

There didn't seem any other way to put it. Whatever he _did_ hit, it wasn't something used to taking hits.

A predator of some sort that relies on stealth rather than direct combat?

The doors opened, and I focused on the situation.

A quick check on the navigator showed that no one was here. That was fortunate, but I also reminded myself that the invisible SCPs weren't on the navigator.

...Or were they, and I just wasn't paying attention?

Either way, I wasn't going to rely completely on the navigator to know who was and wasn't there.

I tried navigating through the tunnels quickly, but it was just too dark through the gas mask. With a sigh, I removed it, dispelling its nourishing effects.

I pinched my nose. Yeowch! I didn't know the tunnels were quite so smelly...

I kept aimlessly walking through the tunnels before coming across a small, narrow room.

A brief inspection had me cashing in night vision goggles and a nondescript pill which I took just for the sake of it.

It's not like a pill weighs the same as a gas mask or something.

I decided to put on the goggles, which proved to be a mistake since everything was pitch black. I took them off and saw that they needed batteries to work.

Oops.

It was a good thing that I had one last battery anyways. If it works.

It worked. I put it on and suddenly I could see my environment more clearly.

I stepped outside of the small server room.

The Old Man was just coming from the hallway I was in.

 _Nope!_ I took off instantly, yet I didn't have quite the same limitless energy as before.

It wasn't necessary. The Old Man seemed content on walking towards me, and I wasn't planning on pissing him off anytime soon.

I rounded a corner before, suddenly-

"Oh shit!" There were two unknown SCPs in front of me, convenient blocking the way to the elevator.

They were tall humanoids with creamy white albino skin. Their teeth looked as sharp as their claws, but they looked thin and gangly, especially around the muscles and stomach.

I was suddenly aware of a strange, draining feeling, but my attention was anywhere but there when I heard the elevator click open.

A moppy brown hair shined through, wearing similar night vision goggles to mine, except with a blue hue.

What?

"There you are! Get over here?"

"John!?" _What!?_

"John? Wha- Hold that thought! We can be surprised later! Now, come on!"

"B-Bu-" I struggled to form coherent words.

"The guys in front of you are pushovers! Just- OH SHIT RUN!"

Spurred on by his words and the footsteps behind me, I took a leap of faith and sprinted forwards.

I barreled through the two humanoids, who ended up on the floor, before rounding into the elevator, the doors closing behind me.

"And that's how the cookie crumble-" I grabbed his shoulders as he was speaking.

"Where the _hell_ were you!?"

"Oh, you know." He started casually. "Pissing off the Plague Doctor, realizing I gave him a keycard with insufficient clearance, _actually_ fixing the zombie plague, you know. Typical _us_ things..."

A tick developed over my eye, at which point he slowly stopped talking.

"Wow, I _do_ look mighty scary like that. The more you know." He noticed the atmosphere and quickly became serious.

"What's up?"

What's up? What's up!?

"I thought you died!" For emphasis, I took out the level four clearance card. His eyes widened.

"Where did you get that?"

"From Billy! Which is why I thought you were dead! I happen to find this whole scenario bullshit!" I was breathing heavily, anger simmering within me.

He was silent for a moment, looking at me.

"Have you been around SCP-966 instances more than this one time, perhaps?"

The elevator doors opened.

"WHAT THE HELL IS AN SCP-966 INSTANCE!?" I screamed, frustrated beyond belief.

What the hell kinda question is that!?

"The invisible guys we met down there." He said patiently, though his eyes were vigilantly scanning the environment before we started walking. "They emit these waves that make you go angry, among other things, and these guys do it even faster since they're really hungry."

The revelation caused me to clam shut on my retort. Now that I thought about it, I really was angry for no reason, and taking it out at the wrong person.

It still didn't remove the anger, though.

"Sorry, John. I'll try and keep it under control." I said.

Now _his_ eye twitched.

"That's the second time you've called me John. Mind explaining?"

What was he angry about? "You called yourself John Cena that one time with the Plague Doctor, so I started calling you like that in my head since."

"You know, that was a joke, so don't call me that. I don't like that name."

"Yeah, well, whatever. You're stuck with it now-" A dark, foreboding look morphed on his features and _woah,_ was it scary.

"And how about yourself? I see you aren't being violated by SCP-096, so you didn't look at its face, I presume?"

Phew, he changed the subject. Crisis averted.

"Yeah. I saw that whole thing with the guard getting eaten, though. Pretty gruesome." He was looking at me with wide, horrified eyes. "What?"

"You _saw_ it?" He whispered, disbelief clear in his voice.

"What's the overreaction for? I saw practically its whole body, but not its face. Guess I had a pretty good angle-" His hand interrupted me.

"So you're saying." He paused. "You saw that _whole_ thing, looking at the _one_ creature that would go to the ends of the earth to kill you if you saw even a glimmer of its face? And that you were at _just_ the right angle as to not even see one ounce of its face?"

"Huh... now that you say it, it's pretty strange..."

"That's not _strange_! That's an absolute miracle that you didn't see its fac-"

A low-pitched wail caused me to immediately look in the direction of the sound, vision enchanted by the night vision goggles.

SCP-096 was staring at me with wide, childlike eyes, before it started squirming.

No...

"OH, SON OF A BITCH! ARE YOU SERIOUS?" Not understanding my outburst, I stopped him before he turned around, leading us to run in another direction.

"IT'S SCP-096! I..." I suddenly felt terror. I struggled to find my breath.

"I looked at its face."

"... For fuck's sake man. Listen, next loop just open one door from the looped hallway in my direction. That's how I'll know it's yours. But... I'm sorry, man. There's nothing I can do for you now..."

There was a tense moment of silence as we ran.

My anger from before renewed. _Nothing_?

My mind returned to Steve and Sunshine. How _nothing_ could be done to save them?

...

How it was impossible?

"Yeah...? Well _I'm_ not giving up!" The wailing turned into high pitched sobbing, and I could imagine the thing shaking incoherently.

I expertly flipped the night vision goggles off as I put on the gas mask and started sprinting.

"H-Hey, wait up!"

"I'm going to 914!" I shouted behind me.

There must be something I could do.

/*/

Even with the gas mask, I felt tired as I reached my destination, my legs burning from the strain.

I actually managed to outrun the tesla coils before they activated. That wasn't in the front of my mind, though.

Come on, think, think, think! There must be something I could upgrade in order to survive against SCP-096!

I could hear the high pitched screaming before it suddenly struck me.

N-No... Surely not? That's _insane_!

I cursed. Insane enough that it might work, dammit. I had no other choice, and my time was almost out.

Time to go out with a bang.

/*/

 _D-9341-2 (John Cena)_

I ran after my alter self, panting from the exertion.

That blasted fool! What was he thinking!?

I avoided the tesla coils and saw that SCP-914 containment chamber was open.

I entered and closed the containment chamber doors.

The eldritch screams came closer and closer.

But...

There was no one inside, and yet all of the things he gathered were on the floor.

SCP-914 was turned on and working.

Just where was he- My eyes widened in horror. No.

No, he _didn't_.

The screams were almost here. I turned my head down just as the machine stopped processing, not daring to risk seeing the creature.

I felt a rush of wind as the containment doors bulged inwards and broke at the same moment.

SCP-914 opened as the machine finished.

The following that happened was something that I never thought I would witness happening.

In one moment, SCP-096 was blurring across my eyesight.

The next, it flied back _through_ the containment chamber doors, breaking the metal, and I heard the tesla coils activate before a mighty _crack_ could be heard at the end of the hallway.

A person stepped out of SCP-914.

" **Yeah... That's more like it.** " A deep voice that _brimmed_ with power echoed across the room, as if spoken by a mighty God.

I looked up.

"W-W-Wha-Wha -" I was too stupefied to form sentences, much less actual coherent thoughts.

I slowly turned my head to regard the middle of the machine.

It was set on 'Very fine'.

Just as slowly, I turned to look at the _very_ buff alter me, whose straight hair now reached to his shoulders and flickered back and forth, as if spurred on by some mystical wind.

His face was chiseled and strong, and he was the picture of regale and masculine power.

He looked ridiculous. Like an exhibitionist and a gymnast had sex together and their child made a cameo in an anime.

So stunned was I that I reacted too late when I saw SCP-096 rush into the chamber once again.

I saw its face.

 _Oh, son of a Bitch!_

That was the least of my concerns when, suddenly, the two combatants locked their hands.

" **And your next words are going to be: Aaaaaaaaaaaahhh!** " He said, then _squeezed._

" _Aaaaaaaaaaaahhh!_ " True to his words, SCP-096 screamed as I saw his hands _pop_ out of place. Ouch. That looked painful.

" **Useless!** " He released one hand and _punched_.

A shockwave burst from where SCP-096 was punched, who actually flew from the force, if not for the hand holding onto his own.

If I had to make a comparison, it'd probably be that SCP-096 looked like a flag stuck on a flagpole on a windy day.

" **Your! Efforts! Are! USELESS!** " With every word he hit the poor SCP, causing shockwaves to be felt across the whole room. On the last hit, he let go of the hand and stepped forward, before-

The wind from the following shockwave was so strong that I got momentarily suspended against SCP-914, the pressure almost overwhelming me before I fell on the ground, breathing heavily.

 _What the actual hell is going on!?_

When I got my bearings, I looked to see a _massive_ part of the facility next to the left wall straight up torn off.

The crack actually connected to a storage room, which was _also_ cracked through.

"Bwuh..!?"

" **Hm... Not bad, SCP-096. Yet you were never a match for me,** _ **Jimmy**_ **!** "

My mind struggled to keep up with the situation as SCP-096 ran after - Jimmy, I guess - _again_ …

" **Tch. Persistent. But I will show you why I, Jimmy -** " Why did he feel like adding his name every time he referred to himself? " **Am better in every single aspect of combat than you!** "

" **Judo!** "

As his opponent tried to disembowel him, Jimmy took his hands and, through a complex set of movements which I could not follow, tripped SCP-096 and wielded him over his shoulder.

The move looked like one you might use to throw your opponent into the ground, but Jimmy took it a step further and threw him away, back through the massive hole in the wall.

SCP-096 recovered almost instantly.

" **AAAAND Karate!** "

Jimmy then adopted another stance which I assumed was one used in karate and, as SCP-096 was trying to disembowel him once more, he redirected the hit with his left hand, throwing his right hand over SCP-096 shoulder.

Then he redirected the hit further upwards while pressing down with his right hand, bringing the screaming creature's head underneath him and spinning the whole thing's torso until it ended up in in a ridiculous neck hold with head upwards over Jimmy's shoulder, with Jimmy's other hand holding SCP-096's.

With a sickening crunch, Jimmy broke the neck with one hand, tore off the hand from the body with the other, and threw the pieces away.

Directly in SCP-914.

In a flash, Jimmy turned the setting to 'Coarse' and activated the machine.

He pointed at the machine with the other hand clenched.

" **FINISH IT OFF, SCP-914!** "

Horrifying screams of pain could be heard from the inside.

/*/

When the machine opened, nothing came out.

I didn't dare approach the machine, so I couldn't see what was inside.

" **Ha! That's what you get for messing with- Gnrk!** " Jimmy suddenly clutched his stomach, as if in pain.

Suddenly, a bright light illuminated the whole room, and I shielded my eyes from it.

When the world returned to normal once again, I turned to look at Jimmy.

I gasped.

There was a mere puddle of blue ash on the ground, sprawled along the orange suit all D-Classes wore.

/* **Your next words are going to be: I am going to take a rest for 5 minutes and drink some water!** */

 _D-9341 (Jimmy)_

I lurched up from my slumber, panting heavily.

What-

What happened?

A moment of silence in the bleak room.

 _Something amazing_ , my mind supplied.

And damn...

Was it amazing.

When I went in the machine, it was an insane idea, born from desperation and a lack of time.

When I came out of the machine, I felt like a God.

I also now had the muscle memory for Judo and Karate, which was _very_ surprising.

I guess it made sense, though.

If the machine could equip a simple navigator with a whole map of the facility _and_ an SCP radar, then it wasn't that much of a stretch to think it gave me muscle experience and knowledge of various martial arts styles?

But then I died.

The death was just as surprising to me. In one moment, it felt as if someone teleported magma inside me in all parts of my body, starting with my stomach, which then exploded outwards.

If there was one thing I didn't expect from this experience...

It was that the death made me _feel_ like a suicide bomber.

Ouch.

I also felt way more confident, and, for some reason, my new favorite number was 914.

To be fair, it was a _very_ cool and badass number.

How strange.

I took a moment to just lay and breathe, recovering mentally from my latest experience.

The door slid open, but, this time, an idea formed in my head.

I was going to see just how much I could change the events that happened.

/*/

"Oh, and by the way..." He reached out and gave me the leaflet with Billy's information on it.

I turned to walk away, but then stopped.

"By the way, Agent Ulgrin..." I started, recalling hearing the name from somewhere.

"Just listen to me before you shoot. There's going to be a facility-wide containment breach happening around the same time of the experiment I'm going to be in."

I slowly turned to look at the guard.

"SCPs 173, 106, 49 and 096 will be some that escape, and many people will die."

At this, the guard instantly pointed his weapons at me, but he didn't shoot.

I figured that was a good sign.

"Just what are you talking about?" He paused. "You know I'm going to have to terminate you regardless if your words are true or not, right?"

"Then how about this?" I suggested quickly. "If nothing happens after the experiment, you terminate me. I'm fine with that."

"But if something _does_ happen, you'll be in the thick of it and most likely die. I know you already hate working here. The only thing I ask is that you stay right here and _don't_ go down there. I can explain everything once the breach starts. Either way, you have the gun here. Feel free to shoot me down now if you don't want to wait for later, regardless if anything happens or not."

I then turned and started walking away, aware that I'd been there for a bit too long and feeling quite a bit of trepidation.

"Fuck, I am _so_ going to get fired for this..."

Against all odds, my shoulders lifted slightly.

I stood in front of the containment chamber.

"Attention, all class D personnel. Please enter the containment chamber."

Once inside, I cut to the chase.

"There is going to be a containment breach, and the lights will shut off in approximately 1 minute."

The doors shut behind us.

"Boy, are you delirious? Christ, can't get anyone sane these days. Blinking." The one next to me said.

"Not even a minute has passed and you deem me crazy? Fine, then. The doors should open before the lights shut off. How about you deem me crazy _after_ that happens?"

I went ignored.

"Please approach SCP-173 for testing."

"Aaand the doors are opening. Who'd have thought it, right?" I said as the doors opened, much to the sudden shock of the two D-Classes next to me.

"Wha- What's going on-"

"Shut up and listen. Consider me an SCP if it helps, but I know what's going to happen. If we don't move now, and I mean _now_ , we're dead. The lights are going to go off in the middle of the next announcement."

"N-No way. You're crazy."

I started to move outside.

"Well, feel free to not trust me on that. I'm going either way." I said and stepped out of the containment chamber, running in the familiar pattern to hide behind the wall.

"Hey! Did you think you could just walk out of there?"

"Uh... There seems to be a problem with the door control system. The doors aren't responding to our... uh..."

I ignored the rest of the announcement, disappointed that they weren't following me.

That wasn't enough, huh... I was sure I convinced them...

I shook my head. Whatever, their choice.

All the while I was having these thoughts, the containment breach was happening.

When the familiar dim hue of the facility that once scared me returned once again, I decided to not keep the good agent waiting, so I went in the room.

Agent Ulgrin had his gun trained on me.

"Okay, you better start explaining. Just how did you know this would happen?"

"If I told you, you wouldn't believe me-" I said.

"Test me. I dare you."

…Well, he wanted it. "This wasn't the first time the containment breach happened to me. Every time I die, I wake up in my bed, on this morning, a little before you open my door."

He stayed silent for a moment.

"Do you honestly believe I'd buy that? I ought to shoot you down right now."

I started to panic.

Agent Ulgrin, however, lowered his gun slightly. "Is what I really should say, but since my occupation is basically in the horror and science fiction department, I'm really not surprised something like this _could_ happen."

Against myself, I raised my eyebrow. "…You believe me, just like that?"

"Well, there's no other explanation, and I've already risked my job for this. If you actually aren't lying then you should have no problem navigating the facility in front of me."

He sounded smug for some reason, but I didn't get it. "Yeah, sure. We should hurry up, though, there are some people that we should save. We're lingering for too long."

So I started moving forwards. "Just follow me."

"Sure. If you're wrong though, I'm shooting you down, you got that?"

/*/

"Oh yeah, there's something I want to tell you." I said to the guard behind me, who has thus far been compliant, if a bit standoffish with the whole _I'll shoot you if you're wrong_ thing.

Such an overreaction, really.

"What's up?"

"There's going to be two people down there. One is a pretty perceptive and good janitor, and the other guy is a douchebag scientist who is going to try to use all of us as meat shields and won't hesitate twice to throw us under the rug if it means he survives."

"Yeah, okay... So what am _I_ supposed to do about that?"

"You, " I emphasized. " are going to be spurred on by the scientist to go with him and / or kill me. Just for your information, the scientist does not care about anyone and will definitely not help you. His apparent knowledge of the place is pretty shoddy, since he tends to 'escape' into the southeast dead end of the facility, where he subsequently dies."

"I see... I really hope you aren't a madman. We _are_ going to the southeast part of the facility, though, so that's a point for your sanity, I guess."

I smiled. "Nonsense. If I actually _were_ a madman, I'd claim that there's an animate teddy bear that kills you by screaming, which causes you to grow ears over your whole body in the next room."

"…I'm sorry? Do you have a few screws loose or somethi-"

We opened the door to see, lo and behold, a teddy bear, looking at us.

Ulgrin stood next to me. "Oh, for fuck's sake, dude."

"Call me Jimmy. This is the last door before we see the two personnel, by the way. We need to be fast."

"Fast? And how do you plan on getting rid of this thing?"

I grinned. "You'll see. Just stand near the door and close it on the signal."

"I don't like the sound of this... What's the signal, though?"

My grin widened. "You'll see."

In a flash and a spin that felt just as satisfying as the first time, Ears the bear flew away into the other room.

Agent Ulgrin took a moment to react, but once he saw Ears wobbling towards us, he closed the door and moved away from it as if it were on fire.

He looked up at me, voice exasperated. "You have got to be the craziest person I've ever met."

I chuckled. "I guess I _am_ a bit of a... madman."

"Oh come on, _seriously_ -"

"And you haven't seen nothing yet either. HEY, YOU TWO!" I opened the door to the storage room and immediately started shouting.

"SCP-173 IS MOVING THROUGH THE VENTS TO YOUR POSITION! QUICK, MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!"

Just like before, they reacted just in time, and I closed the door before the lights turned off.

Already used to this, I opened the door to show off SCP-173, then closed it.

"Well I'll be damned. You were right." Ulgrin said.

"Th-Thank you for that. You saved our lives."

"Mighty thanks from me-"

"Yeah, yeah." I interrupted. "I get it, you're grateful and all, but time is kinda of the essence here. Keep an eye on the door, Billy- or SCP-173 I guess - can open it. I'll be right back."

"H-He can open doors?" Is what I heard before I tuned it out, going to take the keycard and gas mask.

I took a small moment to appreciate that gas mask and everything it's done for me in the past runs.

The gas mask was my spirit animal, truly.

…Okay, enough distractions.

I returned to the group to hear the scientist finish. "-even survive under my guidance."

I snorted, bringing the group to look at me. "Yeaaaah, no. I don't think I'll be following you anytime soon."

The scientist looked down imperiously on me. "Then you shall find yourself outnumbered. As the highest ranking personnel here, that guard-" He pointed at Ulgrin. "- is under my command. If I say jump, he jumps. And if I say shoot..."

He trailed off meaningfully, a cruel smirk on his face. "… I'm sure you can guess what happens."

I snorted. Funnily enough, Agent Ulgrin snorted too. "Huh, you're right." He said, and the scientist's smirk widened.

"He _is_ a douchebag."

I have to admit, I relished in the way the scientist's expression suddenly dropped, wide eyes staring at Ulgrin.

"E-Excuse me?" He said, voice demanding. "You would oppose me? Do you know what I can do to your career, young boy? I could-"

"Yeah, sorry to interrupt you and all, but I kinda don't like working here anyways, and this guy-" He gestured in my direction. "-has more of a clue on this place than you do, so..." He shrugged. "...You know."

"And _how_ , if I may ask, has a lowly D-Class more of a clue on this place than an established member of the SCP Foundation!?" He practically screeched the whole part.

My eyes were on the opened door, though. I wonder how long it would take the scientist to notice, since he was the only one _not_ looking in that direction.

"We're moving back where we came from." I said, then turned to Steve. "You're welcome to come with us."

Then I turned to the scientist. "You're..." I stopped for a bit.

"I'm really sorry it had to be like this. We just weren't meant for each other."

"Huh?" The scientist crunched his eyes. "You little-"

"I get it, I truly do. It's not you, it's me. This relationship would have never worked out anyways. I mean, you, a scientist, and me, a puny D-Class, it'd never work."

The scientist looked positively furious, and he _still_ didn't tear his eyes from me.

"If you think you can make fun of me-"

"I don't _think_ , my good sir. But that's besides the point. The door's been open for like a minute and SCP-173 has been staring a hole into your brain for the same amount of time."

The scientist panicked and whipped his head to look at the statue, expression terrified.

In a flash, his demeanor changed. "P-Please bring me with you. I promise I won't do anything, just let me live."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, sure, whatever. You're free to tag along."

Ulgrin turned to me suddenly. "Are you sure-"

"Trust me on this one. And keep your eyes on the statue."

"And you, Mr. Janitor? Care to join our humble group?"

"W-Well, it's not like I have a choice, d-do I... ?"

I hummed. "You do, and we're not forcing you, but one path nets you a higher chance of survival and the other practically seals your fate."

"I-I still go along with you guys, then... E-Excuse me, but could we not casually talk while this here statue is here?"

...Huh. "Good point. By the way, call me Jimmy." I grinned as we started to move away. "I've been told it's a strong and masculine name."

/*/

After picking up the second keycard, on my call, we made our way further into the facility.

I didn't want to go through the storage room _just_ yet.

In the meantime, everyone introduced themselves, including the scientist, whose name I learned was Samuel Marshall, and Steve, who got more relaxed and friendly with us once he got a grasp of everyone.

Out of everyone, Marshall was obviously the least integrated one, stalking behind us and giving us - by us, I mean Agent Ulgrin and I - scornful looks when he thought we weren't looking.

He probably thought he was smart by sticking with us, and that he'd ruin our lives once we all escaped. Or something like that, who knows.

Well, I wasn't concerned.

He was going to get himself killed anyways, one way or another.

And, as the Old Man started to show up from the ground, that theory was to be tested.

"What the hell!?"

"Oh, no, no, nooo..."

"Ohhh shieeeeet!"

"Quit your yapping and RUN!" I yelled, running forwards, navigating towards where I knew Sunshine would be.

"WE'RE APPROACHING A TESLA COIL, BE PREPARED TO STOP!" I yelled behind me.

/*/

Everything happened similarly to before, including the Old Man being electrified, except...

"Stay away from me, you pervert!" Sunshine yelled at Marshall, hiding behind poor Ulgrin, who was still dizzy from the shouting.

"Don't you _dare_ sully my good name with-"

"You _have_ no good name, you creep! Protect me, guard!"

"I'm way too old for this... Why, Jimmy? Why?" Poor Ulgrin.

I shrugged, not understanding the situation as well, before pointing at Marshall.

"Whatever it is, it's probably his fault."

"Why you... !"

"Arguing ain't getting us nowhere. Let's just agree to disagree and keep them both away from each other, eh?" Steve, ever the voice of reason, solved the situation.

"I'm down for it. Now, let's move."

/*/

Once again, we each took turns introducing ourselves, except Marshall and Sunshine. Those two apparently had bad blood between them.

"Why are we following the D-Class?" Sunshine asked nervously, still gravitating around Ulgrin.

Marshall grumbled under his breath while Steve looked interested despite himself.

Agent Ulgrin answered. "Because this guy is some kind of SCP that can- uhhh, it's kinda hard to explain-"

"See into the future." I supplied.

"See into the future, yeah! In a way..."

"And he hasn't disappointed since, so I can't really complain." He stopped, before adding. "And I have the gun here, so, y'know."

"Yeaaaah, that makes sense..." She turned to look at me now, and I was surprised at the sharp look she gave me. She appeared to be a bit calmer now.

"But what does he gain from having us alive? Can't he just, y'know, escape alone?"

"Hey... That's a pretty good question." Steve agreed, and Ulgrin stayed silent, though he looked in my direction.

Wow, talk about lack of trust.

"I guess doing it out of the goodness of my heart doesn't count as a reason, huh?"

"Tch." / "Nope." /"No way." / "Nah, not really."

"Wow. You wound me, truly. I'm hurt."

What a bunch of paranoid people.

It's like they were in a life or death situation or something.

We passed the elevator leading into the basement.

" _Very_ long story short, it's to keep myself sane. And to prove something."

"Prove what?" Steve asked.

I stilled, but only for a bit. "That I can do the impossible."

"Huh... I don't get it?" Sunshine said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ulgrin added.

I took a deep breath.

' _Breathe in the light- '_

And let it go.

' _And breathe out the darkness.'_

"It's something personal. But nevermind that. We need to go to a certain hallway and open a door now..."

/*/

"I don't get it. What will opening this door accomplish?" Steve asked.

"It's a looping hallway. SCP-970 is the name." Sunshine said, before pointing at me.

"What I don't get is how _you_ know about it! And what will opening this door accomplish!?"

"Well, while we wait, I guess I could tell you guys..."

"Why are we waiting, though?" Ulgrin asked. I smiled.

"We're waiting for... a friend."

"You sure seem to have a lot of friends around here- Where's Marshall?" Ulgrin suddenly asked.

We all turned around and came to the conclusion that he was definitely _not_ in the room.

"Of course..." I muttered.

He probably saw what he thought was a way out and decided to jump ships.

But where would he have- An answer popped in my mind even before the question completed itself in my mind.

"Did anyone hear something from Marshall after we were in the elevator room?"

Everyone went still.

"Well, that answers that question. As to Marshall, he's dead. As to the story-"

"WHAT!?" That was probably not the right thing to say as Sunshine suddenly screeched, face looking pale.

I took a look and saw that Steve also turned pale.

"Uh... Maybe you should use a bit of tact before dropping that kind of bomb on people?" Ulgrin rigidly said.

"Uh..." I guess it _was_ a bit sudden..."

"And why'd you just write down the poor feller as dead, is what I want to know!" Steve said.

"Okay, okay, let's all calm down. There's no use panicking, you'll hear everything from me. Just trust me, I know."

They seemed unwilling to speak, so I simply continued.

"That elevator leads to the basement floor. There is some kind of red reptile there that attracts people by imitating the voices of its previous victims. You need to be fast, extremely lucky or very paranoid to survive an encounter with the damn things. These are all qualities I doubt our friend Marshall possesses, ergo my assumption that he is dead."

I nodded my head. "There, can we calm down now-"

"Ooooohhh..." Sunshine started shivering and looked like she was about to scream- Oh no.

"Ulgrin, calm her down!"

Being a survivor of her auditory attacks, he didn't bother arguing and went straight to the case.

"Hey, Sunshine, don't worry about a thing! I'll make sure those things eat lead if they even look at you wrong. Just calm down, I've got your back."

She sniffed a little bit, but otherwise didn't descend into screaming.

As always, that was a good sign.

Although...

"Well, we won't ever be seeing them, you know. Since they're only in the basement and there are _way_ more dang-" I noticed the wild shaking of Steve's hands, who put them in an 'X' shape multiple times and I realized what I was about to say.

"... Never mind." I finished lamely.

"A-Are you sure they're only in the basement?" She said meekly.

"Positive. I've never seen them anywhere else in the whole facility at least.

"The whole facility? How'd you manage to explore the whole facility, my boy?" And there went Steve.

"Well,-" I heard the faint sound of doors opening.

It was coming from the hallway.

"That explanation can wait for a bit. Our friend is coming."

"And who exactly is this friend from ours? You haven't exactly been clear on that." Ulgrin rightfully said.

"True." I conceded. "It'll be more clear when he comes through."

I stood in the middle of the hallway while the others were bunched up to my right, Ulgrin unwillingly staying around Sunshine while Steve stood next to them.

And thus, the final door opened of the storage room inside.

I saw John emerge from it. Only I could see him, and I could tell that everyone was interested.

I grinned.

"Welcome back."

"You," John started. ", are the single most idiotic, stupid, neurotic, messed-up individual I have ever met in my whole damn life."

He started approaching me slowly with a frown as my grin dropped, eyes wide in disbelief.

What?

"Would you mind explaining to me just what possessed your tiny little brain to even _think_ what you did was a good idea? That was _the_ most irresponsible thing you've done so far."

He paused for a bit, and I was left more confused than before.

What was he talking about!?

"Even if it was the coolest thing I saw."

 _Oh, that._ I chuckled guiltily and I could see the others giving me horrified and perplexed looks, as if suddenly unsure what to make of me.

"So, tell me." He sighed, exasperated as he walked into the room. "What _other_ extremely foolish thing have you done now that will inadvertently cause our demise this..."

He slowly turned around to see a wide-eyed and extremely confused Steve and Sunshine.

I assumed Ulgrin had a similar expression.

"... time."

He slowly turned to look at me, his right eye twitching furiously as I backed away in the direction of the group.

They in turn backed away, throwing me to the wolves.

"Traitors." I mumbled.

"What. Is this?" His face looked like he was ready to go on a killing spree if I gave the wrong answer.

And it was _terrifying._

"Hehehe... I can explain?" I offered uncertainly.

* * *

 **I'm sure that our resident goof D-9341 certainly won't experience backlash and terrible consequences that will scar him horribly for gathering up this group of misfits.**

 **Oh well, we'll see how it turns out.**

 **And, of course, gotta mention the fight. I put a significant time of research purely on trying to see if SCP-096 would be killed by SCP-914.**

 **The end result was a very hesitant yes. This is because, after research of SCP-914, I didn't so far see anything that it hasn't been able to cut.**

 **Plus, the machine reacts to the 'situation' as well when outputting something, which is why our main character was turned into a JoJo meme- I mean, became incredibly strong with a faster 'death counter', if you will.**

 **Yeah.**

 **Also, good news for you. I made a bit of a mistake in assessing the date of the trip I would be going on.**

 **I'm going on the 24th, which means that there's going to be an update next week on the 22nd.**

 **Yay!**

 **However, there is no update on the week afterwards.**

 **Nay!**

 **Oh well. It is what it is.**

 **As always, hope you enjoyed.**

 **Unless you're some kind of masochist who reads stories they dislike for some twisted form of pleasure, then...**

 **Huh... Thanks?**

 **I'm not sure how it came to this point, lol.  
**

 **Whatever, see you next week xD** **  
**

 **Edit (16th September): Had to fix up a thing but since I'm here editing the file already, I'll just casually point something out.**

 **As per my knowledge, Agent Ulgrin _does_ survive and escape the containment breach.**

 **However, our main character doesn't know that. I'll leave you with that.**

 **Next Chapter: 22nd September, 2018**


	8. Chapter 8 - The Sun Shines

**AN: I had such a good start to the writing.**

 **I actually managed to get some writing done in Sunday, which I normally don't do, and everything seemed great.**

 **Then I got insomnia and slept for a grand total of around 7 hours this whole week.**

 **Almost didn't publish this chapter, but I somehow managed to write just enough.**

 **Enough about me complaining, though.**

 **You have another lighthearted, fun chapter to read, after all!**

* * *

"Well?" John demanded.

"W-W-Well, you see, John..." His eye twitched.

Oh yeah, the name was a no-no.

Oops.

Then there was silence.

Not the calm sort of silence, mind you. It was more the oppressive, stressful sort of silence in which my mind worked at full steam, trying to find out not only a plausible explanation but also to restore the trust of the people behind me.

"How about instead of trying to think something up, you tell the truth?" John quipped.

"Ah..." I cursed.

Dammit, my mind was running blanks!

Ah, screw it.

"You know, I was going to be dead anyways and I didn't have much time to think up a good plan. Plus, I actually ended up killing it, which was much more than either of us expected, so I don't really understand why I have to take this abuse from you!"

"I am so lost it isn't even funny anymore." Ulgrin whispered to the others.

"You can say that again." Steve agreed.

I ignored them.

John looked abashed.

"W-Well, I guess that makes sense... But that whole situation would have never happened had you not looked at-"

"Yeah, well all of our deaths would not have happened 'had we done something right'! You can't predict the future without living through it first, my friend!"

"Still! That explains _that_ particular event, but not-" At this, he pointed at the group of people watching the debacle of a conversation. "-them!"

"Eep!" Sunshine squealed.

John lowered his voice so that only I could hear him. "I thought we talked about this. It isn't possible to escape with them, you know this!"

"Well, I beg to differ! Even if it took a million tries, at least one of them would end with all of us escaping alive!"

"That may be so, but we don't have the information nor experience to escape the facility ourselves properly! Them being around, for now at least, would be detrimental to our intelligence gathering, making our stay in the facility, and thus theirs, that much longer!

And that is _if_ we don't account for the inherent problems that pop up when there are _more_ people!"

I whispered back just as furiously. "Which is _exactly_ why we should have them accompany us in every loop, to figure out the kinks in the system and work around them, just as we have this whole time!"

He looked at me, expression dark. "And do you think you can handle it? Seeing them die over and over again in various brutal ways until you can't take it anymore? Are you that arrogant?"

"I can handle it-"

"Bullshit-"

"How can you call it bullshit if you haven't even _tried_ -"

"I HAVE TRIED!" He suddenly screamed, eyes flashing with rage as my own widened.

W-What?

His chest rose up and down, before he lowered his voice.

"I have tried. Many times. And I got _tired_ of having to see my friends die, over and over again."

He looked down, and I suddenly saw the broken man for what he was.

Tired. A fed up man that has lost far too much and just wanted to live his life in peace.

"I just want to leave this place, and to hell with biting off more than we can chew. Is that so much to ask?"

"I..."

I was left speechless.

On one hand, I wasn't ready to give up on them, not yet. I had to see for myself if they could be saved.

On the other hand, though... Didn't John already experience this very same thing, and was just warning me before it was too late?

Before I became like him?

The thoughts clashing in me were interrupted as John suddenly stood straight, no trace of our conversation present on his face.

I suddenly wondered just how much he did that... Hide his expression so no one knew how he truly felt.

It was a terrifying thought.

He suddenly started speaking loud enough to be heard by everyone. "Well, we can get some hands on experience with the subject and that should help us continue our... conversation. For now, though, we should start moving."

Then he fished out something out of his pocket, and my eyes bulged.

It was an Omnicard. "And I have this baby, so a lot of our work has already been done."

"Does that do what I think it does... ?"

"Yes and more. This is the equivalent of having unlimited access to the facility. Now, can we-"

"Now wait for just a gosh darn second!" Steve suddenly exclaimed.

"I think we all deserve to know just what the hell is going on here! First, a clone of sorts pops up, and then you have the strangest conversation-"

John ruthlessly answered. "We're time travelers that return to the beginning of this day every time we die. This hallway leads to another dimension with the illusion that the hallways are looping. I came from one such dimension where it is pretty much impossible to escape.

As to our conversation, it was about Jimmy's latest death and me questioning just why he brought you along when you're going to die anyways."

"Excuse me!?" What is he thinking!? John turned to me.

"He claims that he can save you, I claim that he can't. Let's see how it goes."

He then took a level three keycard out of his pocket and threw it to me.

"You can keep this one. I'm going to go off alone for some... intelligence gathering."

Then he started to walk away.

"Hey, just wait a second... You can't be serious!?"

He raised his hand, as if he was waving goodbye.

I realized that this wasn't a joke. He was going.

"We'll definitely hear from each other later. Once you've gotten more... experience on the matter, we can continue talking."

He then went through the door, leaving all of us in an awkward and tense silence.

"W-What he said... It can't be true, right?" Steve asked. I could hear the trembling of his voice.

I stayed silent.

"Well, according to what I know from Jimmy, everything sounds just about right. Fuck me." Ulgrin said.

"We're going to die..." Sunshine whispered. It sounded more like a fact being stated than the beginning of a nervous breakdown.

"Don't worry... If it's any consolidation..." I said, before I started moving forward, opposite to where John left.

"The only thing you're going to remember is escaping the facility... All the horrors that happened to you will never have happened in the first place."

"T-That doesn't make me feel any better..." Sunshine said.

I abruptly stopped in my tracks as Ulgrin started talking. "... After hearing all of this, I'm just going to be glad I don't have to keep dying over and over again. That sounds like an _absolute_ nightma-" I could hear something - or someone - being hit behind me. "-OW! What was that fo- Oh... _Oh..._ "

I took a few deep breaths.

' _Breathe in the light, and breathe out the darkness.'_

"Let's just go."

/*/

I led the way to the heavy containment zone silently, trusting that the lockdown has already been lifted.

Even in my vigilance, my mind still couldn't escape what happened moments before.

I stayed silent as Sunshine and Ulgrin conversed.

Well... Conversing might be too much to say about Ulgrin right now.

"You know..."

"Huh?"

"I'm still having trouble believing this whole thing with time travel."

"Huh."

"I mean, I know we're practically working in the horror science fiction department..."

"Hmm."

"But I still don't get how this situation turned into trusting a D-Class who just _happened_ to be right all the time."

"Mhm."

"I mean, you were the first guy to be convinced, right? If I were you, I'd just shoot the guy down, but I don't know if its guard protocol to do that or not..."

"Mmm..."

"But I guess what you did made sense in the end, since it actually turned out to be true."

"Uh-huh. Hey, how long until we get there?" Said Ulgrin as I opened the door to the intersection between the zones.

Billy was there. I spied the screen above the door, and it appeared the lockdown wasn't lifted yet.

I promptly closed the door. "A bit longer thanks to our unexpected friend here, Ulgrin. Keep an eye if the door opens and follow me. Since all of you are probably going to have eyes on it, if I scream it means run in the other direction."

And so we started to move away to another intersection.

I was basically guessing at this point, but I figured another entrance couldn't be too far away.

It should give John enough time to find the surveillance room. The layout of this place was probably different than the one he was used to.

"In the meantime, try and pay attention. I'm going to list off some of the troublemakers we're going to likely encounter starting from the heavy containment zone..."

/*/

"... And that's about the last of them. Any questions?"

Sunshine raised her hand. I sighed.

"Yes, Sunshine?"

"About that bear that's manipulative and will try and follow you out of reasons unknown and we shouldn't trust it..."

"Yeah?"

This time, Ulgrin answered. "It's kinda been staring at you ever since it climbed on that table in the middle of your monologue. I'm guessing it didn't like what it heard."

I whipped my head around to look at the window in the intersection where we were waiting.

Lo and behold, the bear was there. I frowned.

"Change of plans. We're not going to the heavy containment zone yet."

Somewhere during my explanation, the lockdown lifted, but I didn't want us to go inside unprepared.

Information was power, after all.

This changed things, however.

...Plus, I just remembered something important.

"We're going to be doing some... equipment upgrading."

"Equipment upgrading? I like the sound of that."

"Yeah... That means your gun, too. We're going to make sure that any errant bears following us will be pulverized to dust. Do you think you can shoot the thing if you see it?"

Ulgrin puffed his chest out. "Hey, who do you take me for? I might be a chill dude, but I work in this place for a reason!"

I nodded. "Good. Let's roll."

/*/

I managed to find the storage room with the navigator and two batteries, since it was structurally close to SCP-914.

Otherwise, there was a suspicious, yet understandable lack of aggressive SCPs.

With the opening of the heavy containment zone, new SCPs could come inside, yes, but old ones could somehow find their way to the other side as well.

Not that I was going to voice that opinion and potentially make them less wary. Fear was good in this situation.

We arrived at SCP-914, and I noticed that it was already open.

There was also a black puddle on the floor.

So John likely came here, but was forced to flee once the Old Man came.

"That black puddle..." Sunshine said to herself.

"I reckon it's from that black feller? The Old Man, as you call it, eh?" Steve questioned, then turned to me for confirmation.

I nodded. "Yeah. Our... acquaintance was here, most likely, and had to go away once the Old Man materialized. We're also going to have to be careful. But in the meantime..."

I started putting each of the equipment that we had inside, explaining the process along the way.

"So the thing with this machine is, if you put something like-" I took the navigator and put it inside. "-this thing, you can get a better, more useful tool at the end of it."

I set it to 'Very Fine'.

"How better or worse it is depends on the setting you use. The navigator we're going to get at the end not only has a full map of the facility, but it can also detect SCPs, which makes our life a ton more easier."

"That certainly sounds handy." Steve commented as the door opened and I took the navigator, offering it to him.

"Sure it does. Here, have a go at it."

He started fiddling with it as the others gathered behind him, interested in the machine.

Then they started looking nervous.

"Uh, Jimmy... ?"

"Yeah?" I put my gas mask in, along with the two keycards. Maybe I also got an Omnicard.

"It says there's an SCP-049 around here. And an SCP-966. No, make that two of those-"

He was suddenly interrupted by Ulgrin tapping his radio.

"This is Agent Ulgrin, sir. I'm afraid I haven't seen Dr. Maynard yet."

We all went silent as Ulgrin continued talking.

"Negative, sir. I'm currently in the light containment zone with some personnel. We're getting ready to go in the heavy containment zone."

"... Yes, sir. That will be our next objective-"

Ulgrin abruptly stopped. I heard more talking, although I couldn't fully make it out.

The voice turned more demanding, before Ulgrin finally answered.

"Yes, sir. He's here." He then started taking off his ear piece.

Before he offered it to me.

"Fuck me... Alright, just talk to them and don't say anything stupid, okay?" Ulgrin said to me as I started panicking.

"They want to talk to me? Why?"

"Take a guess, dimwit. Just take the thing and start talking."

Seeing no way out, I took it and fastened it onto my head.

"Uh... Hello?" I said uncertainly. Why would they want to speak to _me_?

How did they even know I was here!?

"Hello. Am I speaking to the subject D-9341?"

Fuck. They even knew my designation.

I have to play it cool. Maybe try and figure out how I attracted their attention and _not_ replicate it next loop.

"Do you copy? Am I speaking to-"

"Yes, I heard you the first time. That's me. What do you want?"

Ulgrin facepalmed.

"... I see you still have authority issues." I frowned. Authority issues?

Still?

"No matter. I have a couple of questions for you."

"I'll see if I'm inclined to answer."

"Oh, you most certainly are. Agent Ulgrin will make sure of that."

I looked at Ulgrin, who shrugged.

"Sorry, dude... Not much use in escaping if I die anyways. Gotta obey the rules." He sighed in resignation.

"It's as Agent Ulgrin says. Now, to start off-"

"-Hey, excuse me, but what if an SCP comes here and starts chasing us? I can't really answer questions then. This is risky enough as it is, staying in the same place. You better make it fast."

"...We'll make it fast, then. We recovered footage from your conversation with Agent Ulgrin, detailing an incoming facility-wide containment breach. We would like to know your role in the orchestration of this event."

Wait... "You can't possibly think that I caused it? That makes no sense!"

"...You are the only individual who has thus far provided knowledge of the containment breach, thus you are one of, if not the primary suspect-"

"How exactly do you expect a D-Class to cause a facility wide containment breach, if I may ask?"

"The same way that D-Class knew about said containment breach, if I may answer."

Ouch. "... Fair enough. Well, you've got the wrong story then."

"Mind telling us the real story then and stop wasting both of our time?"

I frowned. "Fine. I'm a time traveler that returns to the morning of this day every time I die in the containment breach. Upon realizing it's far too hard to escape on my own, I enlisted the help of Agent Ulgrin, saving two additional personnel in the process. Agent Ulgrin can confirm my words."

Ulgrin spoke loudly. "Agent Ulgrin here, sir. He speaks the truth. Under his direct guidance I was led to two additional personnel, a janitor called Steve Fischkopf and a... huh..."

"Sunshine Barrows, part of the research unit responsible for investigating SCP-714's anomalous properties."

"...Yeah, that. Sir."

"Is that enough evidence for you?" I asked.

"Hm... You seem to speak the truth. Very well- Excuse me..." The person speaking abruptly stopped, as if interrupted by something.

"Stay on the line." He said, before all noise disappeared.

"They cut the sound from their end." I said for clarification, before deciding to get the things that lay in SCP-914.

 _No way._

I stood there in silence for a bit, not believing my own luck.

Then I picked up the Omnicard and the gas mask.

The moment I went to the others, I could hear a flickering sound before the connection re-established.

It was not the same voice that greeted me, though. This one was being scrambled, and I couldn't tell if it was a male or a female.

"Hello? Are you still in the same location?"

"Hello. Yes, I wasn't forced to flee as of yet."

"Good. We ask that you put some distance between yourself and the others."

...Huh?

"...I guess I will." And so I did, ignoring the confused looks sent my way.

"Have you sufficiently distanced yourself-"

"Yes, yes, I have. Can we get on with the show?"

"...Very well. We wish to enlist your unique skillset to find out the truth behind this containment breach. This means the circumstances involving it, the party causing it, and the like."

"And I assume you're going to tell me just why I should comply."

There was silence on the other end.

Just before I was going to speak, the person started talking again.

"...Provided you complete this objective with satisfactory results, we are prepared to release you from all of your previous charges and reinstate you as a member of the Foundation... along with giving you all of your memories back."

My mind suddenly blanked, any answer I might have given gone out the window.

"Memories back..." I whispered.

"R-Reinstate? Does that mean-" I stopped, trying to process the bombshell that was dropped on me and utterly failing.

No. No way.

"You were once a member of the Foundation. After a... dispute between us and one of your... works, we have decided to demote you to a Class D.

However, the completion of this task we have given you would far outweigh the effects of your felony, and thus we are prepared to react accordingly."

I stood on my spot, contemplating what I was being told.

Something didn't make sense. The more I thought about it, the less sense it made.

"Hello?"

"Ah, excuse me." I answered automatically. "Just trying to find out the contradiction in the lie you just said. Or you could spare me the effort and just tell me?"

"... I have been nothing but completely honest with you-"

"Ah, the part where I'll be excused by performing 'satisfactorily' on this job! Yeaaaaah, I don't buy it."

"...Don't waste this chance. We _are_ fully prepared to absolve you of your crimes."

"Oh yeah, I know."

"...Then what is the problem?"

Here comes the tricky part. I hoped I heard the conversation right and wasn't making a fool out of myself.

"You... sound a bit too eager to have me back working under you guys, if you don't mind me pointing out. Makes me wonder whether or whether not this task you gave me is actually a factor in my returning to the facility."

There was silence on the end, and I could hear the murmuring of various different voices.

"...Impressive." This was another voice, scrambled as it was.

"You must still keep in mind that we do not know where your allegiances lay. In the spirit of fairness, however, I will... rephrase the arrangement."

"The acquirement of information regarding the containment breach is more... a test of loyalty, if you shall. That is all you need to know for know."

"Huh... That seriously can't be it, right?"

"It's the best we can do, considering we can't trust you..."

"Yet."

Exactly as those words were uttered, the Old Man started manifesting.

"RUN!"

/*/

"Well... It appears we have nothing to discuss further about. On behalf of us all, I wish you good luck. Goodbye."

"...Thanks. Goodbye."

After ending the conversation with some even _more_ unlikely individuals, I returned the earpiece to Ulgrin.

Well... That was an interesting talk.

And it seems they were chatting with Ulgrin too, if him responding was any indication. I tuned out the conversation in favor of keeping track of the facility in the nav.

Suddenly, Ulgrin went completely rigid beside me.

I chuckled.

So they told him who they were, huh. Can't really fault the guy for the reaction.

"So, uh..." Steve said awkwardly.

"Mind telling us what in tarnation's going on?"

"Sorry. It's top secret." We continued shifting through the hallways, with me at the front now that Ulgrin was lagging behind, occupied with his conversation.

"How top secret are we talking about?"

"The kind that gets you killed five minutes after you learned of it. Need I say more?"

With the way his face abruptly paled, I doubted it. "No, no, that's quite enough."

"Okay, dude, what the actual hell is going on here?" Ulgrin demanded, catching up to me as I finally picked up the signal I was looking for.

SCP-008.

"Bingo."

"You know what? I don't even want to know. My new orders are to support and follow you on your mission." He suddenly perked up. "Huh... Never thought I'd have to treat a Class D with actual respect, but its you so I guess I'm fine with it."

"I'll take that as a compliment. We're here. Now," I turned to them all.

"Listen to _everything_ I say. It may be wrong, it might get you killed, but it's still leagues better than anything you likely have in mind for this situation."

"That's so not encouraging..."

"It isn't meant to encourage you, Sunshine. It's a listen to me or you likely die kind of deal. Well..."

A quick swipe of the Omnicard later, the doors were opened.

"Here we go."

For all intents and purposes, I expected more than a crammed hallway leading in two directions, with a poster detailing SCP-008 as Euclid.

I took a chance and opened the left door.

Billy was in the corner of the room.

I promptly closed the door.

"Eeeeeeeee..." Sunshine was whining.

"Deal with it." I said to Ulgrin, before opening the other room.

"Why me...?"

"Steve, you deal with it too."

"Oh, thanks. Steve, deal with it for me, will ya?"

I heard a heavy sigh from behind me as I entered the room to the right.

Recalling John's previous warning, I started putting on the hazmat suit.

After I was finished, I turned to see everyone inside the room, looking at me.

"Stay in this room, and for the love of God use your common sense."

And thus I entered the room, closing the door behind me. It was a dull white room with a singular container in it, and visible gas was pouring out of it. To my left, two large windows were located, looking into the control room.

Billy wasn't there. I panicked, quickly turning around and opening the door.

Ulgrin was looking at the statue, which was a scant meter away from Steve.

"Back away and close that door!" I said.

"We're going to die..." Sunshine whispered.

"WE DON'T HAVE A KEYCARD!"

And my keycard was here, in the hazmat suit. Damn it!

"We're going to DIE!" Sunshine started backing away, closer to the room I was in.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

Out of nowhere, a shrill scream rended the world around us, its volume and intensity shocking me instantly and causing me to stagger back, trying to cover my ears with my hands in the hazmat suit.

All of a sudden, an explosion happened.

 _What the hell is going on!?_

And she was _still_ screaming!?

"SHUT UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUPPPPP!" I heard Ulgrin scream out of the top of his lungs, his gravely voice shocking the world itself into a deadly silence.

When I returned to my senses, I saw-

My breath caught. Horror poured inside me as I started living through the nightmare once again.

Horror spurred on by Steve's limp, lifeless body, neck bent at an unnatural angle at Billy's feet.

A level four keycard lay next to the body, dropped.

/*/

"Oooh-"

"I SWEAR IF YOU START SCREAMING AGAIN I'M SHOOTING YOU MYSELF, EVEN IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!" Ulgrin yelled, looking at the statue as Sunshine suddenly stilled, though her eyes were still on Steve.

Or rather, his corpse.

"JIMMY! WHAT'S TAKING YOU SO LONG!? SHUT THE DAMN THING DOWN!" I started moving immediately, turning around and, after a brief inspection, closed the lid.

Was-Was that it... ? That was _all_ it was?

 _This_ is what we lost Steve to...?

I shook my head. This was no time to get sidetracked.

"I did it! We need to go!"

"W-We can't l-l-lea-leave him!?" Sunshine mumbled, still in shock from the whole event.

"He's already dead, there is nothing we can do for him. Now MOVE!"

I moved to Sunshine, who was now stood in the same room I was in by a fair margin.

 _How did she get so far in the room?_

There were more pressing issues on my mind, however.

Namely, Sunshine wasn't moving at all. I grabbed a hold of her shoulders gently and started moving her with me.

She wouldn't budge. She stood ramrod straight with one hand locked around her wrist.

"Sunshine, we need to go!"

"H-H-H-He's d-d-d..." It was no use. She was stuck on the place and it looked like she finally caught on what was going on.

"Oh for crying out loud! Ulgrin, I'm getting out of the hazmat suit, keep an eye on SCP-173!"

"Make it fast! And Sunshine, you better start moving right now or there will be hell to pay!"

By the time I exited my hazmat suit (and hoped SCP-008 couldn't spread through air), I saw that Sunshine was _still_ standing there.

"Ulgrin, I'm picking her up! Prepare for potential screaming!"

"Oh goddammit!"

"H-hu- AAAAAAAHH!" Before she processed what was being said, I picked her up bridal style and she screeched. I fought through the pain and the now forming headache.

When she decked me across the face, however, is when I drew the line. I spat out blood.

Boiling hot rage was racing inside me. _This damned woman!_

"FOR GOD'S SAKE WOMAN, STAY STILL! IF YOU DON'T STAY STILL I SWEAR I AM DROPPING YOU RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW, AND TO HELL WITH YOU!"

"Did she just punch you!?"

"YES! NOW LET'S LEAVE!"

I started moving to catch up with Ulgrin, before I saw the keycard.

"Ulgrin! Get the keycard on the floor while I'm looking at it! It's gonna follow us otherwise!"

"I'm on it!" He grabbed the keycard swiftly before he started moving past Billy.

It took a bit of effort, but I managed to squeeze myself and the terrified Sunshine past Billy.

"AAAAAHH! IT'S TOUCHING ME! EW EW EW!"

The fool started thrashing again, and I feared for my life.

"SUNSHINE, SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Ulgrin yelled behind me, and I took a moment to mentally appreciate him making sure we was getting out.

In a few scant seconds, we went outside and Ulgrin swiped the keycard, closing the door behind us.

/*/

I put Sunshine on her feet. She wobbled, but could otherwise stand normally. At least something.

I appreciated the brief moment of reprieve from all the chaos, before we inevitably needed to move on.

"I-I-I can't believe he died..." Before it was ruthlessly destroyed by Sunshine's voice.

My eye twitched and I looked at Ulgrin. Ulgrin was looking at me as well.

As one, we turned to Sunshine. I was the one who talked, however.

"Sunshine... Why?"

"E-Eh... ?" Wide-eyed and terrified, she looked at me like a lost puppy.

My voice had lost all emotion by this point. I was just too tired. "In the case you didn't notice... It was your screaming that caused all of us to lose sight of SCP-173... leading to Steve's death."

Her eyes widened even more. She started crying.

"Multiple times afterwards, you almost got us killed. First you stayed in place, then you scream again, then you _punch_ me-" I started speaking louder and louder. "-and then you almost kill us, AGAIN, BY THRASHING AROUND WHEN WE WERE PASSING BY SCP-173! WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF!?"

I heard clapping. It was slow and measured.

We all suddenly looked to see John there, a dark, sad look in his features before he spoke.

"Where'd you get that cut on your hand from, Sunshine?"

Huh?

I saw Sunshine quickly covering up her wrist with her other hand, much the same way she did before.

I didn't miss the cut on her arm though. Wait, where _did_ she get that cut from?

She held her arm much the same way back in the chamber containing-

Oh.

"Uh..."

"Was my question not clear? Nevermind, then." He turned to me.

"Did she get that cut where I thinks she got it from?"

"I'm... pretty sure she did..." Horror was slowly growing inside me, and my eyes widened.

John sighed. "This is what I warned you about, Jimmy."

"W-What are you guys talking about?"

"I'm so sorry, Sunshine..." John said, and I was struck by the empathy in his voice. "You have been infected with SCP-008. That red in the corners of your eyes?" He said, and Sunshine widened, turning her eyes tellingly to look at them before she realized that she'd been fooled into basically admitting it.

"I'm so sorry."

"N-No... Please... Don't..."

"Oh, for fuck's sake... You're going to make me do it, aren't you?" Ulgrin said, and my heart broke at the pain in his voice.

"She didn't mean to kill Steve, nor cause us that trouble... For fuck's sake! She doesn't deserve this!" I wrenched my eyes shut.

This was too painful.

I heard Sunshine cry. "I-I-I'm sorree... Didn't wanna..."

"Fuck me... It's okay Sunshine... Just..." I opened my eyes to see Ulgrin aim at Sunshine, and for John to turn away. I mimicked the action.

"Close your eyes for me... Please."

My heart wept at the sound of gunshots filling the air, and the following thump.

* * *

 **AN:**

 **Fun, lighthearted chapter indeed, a-la Chapter 2 style.**

 **Almost didn't upload due to the sheer exhaustion I'm feeling, not to mention that the quality obviously dropped for obvious reasons.**

 **I didn't want to leave you guys with nothing, though, so here it is.**

 **Now I can finally go rest in pepperonis and, as you've seen me announce multiple times, the next update is in 2 weeks.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

 **Peace.**

 **Next Chapter: 6th October, 2018**


	9. Chapter 9 - Memories of a Time Forgotten

**AN: I RETURN!**

 **Back from my trip and boy was it nice and relaxing.**

 **Except the bus rides. They were horrifying.**

 **Especially the trip back, which lasted from 9am until around half 1 in the morning the following day, and I arrived around 1am home.**

 **Got sick immediately after waking up and learned there was a truckload of things for me to start working on.**

 **Joy.**

 **Anyways, that's enough from me. Hope you enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

Silence.

Past the heavy, labored breathing of three individuals - not four or five - there was silence.

"We should go." John whispered.

"It's a matter of moments until the SCPs collapse on us. We don't have the luxury to mourn now. Spare it for later."

I had a feeling he was talking to me more than Ulgrin, even though it looked like Ulgrin needed it more.

"I think I'm going to be sick..." Ulgrin said rigidly before we both started moving.

I checked the navigator to distract myself from the corpse I was currently walking past.

Images of the basement and Sunshine still flashed in my mind, and I hurried to stand next to John.

Checking the navigator turned out to be the right thing to do, though.

"We're in trouble, guys."

They both looked at me.

"SCP-173 is coming from our left, and SCP-049 is somewhere in the vicinity as well. Two instances of SCP-966's are to our right-"

"We're going right."

"I agree... It's going to be a good chance for Ulgrin to test out his guns, I reckon."

"You know..." Ulgrin started as we moved to the right corridor. "After the shit I've been through right now, I'd probably shoot them regardless of what you said."

I put on my gas mask before moving to walk behind Ulgrin, John on the other side.

After passing two corridors, the circle on the navigator indicated that we were in the same room.

"They're here. Just shoot in front of you."

"Sure thing. A shame I couldn't get the weapon upgraded, though..."

In a flash, Ulgrin opened fire across the room.

Eldritch shrieks of horror echoed in the room, before Ulgrin directed his fire at where the sound was coming from.

There were two thumps, and it was over just as it started.

That...

"That was kinda anticlimactic... Didn't make me feel any better as well."

"Well, if you see them through the night vision goggles, they're malnourished and generally gangly as a species so it's no surprise that they dropped so fast." John clarified.

"Either way, I'm going to the entrance zone. You guys could go along with me."

"Well... We _are_ going to be going to the entrance zone, but we first need to do something here..."

"We do?" Ulgrin asked. I nodded.

"And what is it that you need to do? I assure you it's likely not as important as-"

"We're going to recontain SCP-106."

That brought the conversation to a silence. John was looking at me with an intensity that bordered on abnormal, and I was taken aback.

"Is everything okay?"

And suddenly, it was as if nothing happened. His expression morphed into a serious one, something that one might expect to find in this scenario.

It was fake, I realized. He was hiding his expression more than I thought...

But to what extent?

And what was below the surface?

"You can't recontain it. It's impossible." John said with a tone that allowed no argument.

I raised an eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure it-"

"Listen. I've tried countless times. It's just not possible. Forget about it. I've decided. You guys are coming with me. I'd rather you guys not get yourselves killed."

Okay... This was not what I was expecting. At most, I expected some form of reprimand.

This...

This was something more.

And since when did he care about _our_ survival? About Ulgrin? I wasn't buying it.

Just what was going on here?

"Listen, I don't know what's going on with you but I'm going there anyways. Don't try to stop us."

Silence again.

"Fine... Suit yourself." At this, I was expecting him to walk away. Why bother when it was clear that I, and by extension Ulgrin, were not coming along?

Instead, he turned to Ulgrin, expression stone cold. "Ulgrin, come with me. You have a bigger chance of survival with me than with him."

My eyes widened, shock keeping me from retorting immediately. Just what was John playing at!?

"Yeah...?" Ulgrin took big breaths, which he let out shakingly.

And, as if a lightbulb appeared above my head and turned on, it struck me. It didn't matter that Ulgrin was a guard. He was just as easily afflicted by death as were the best of us. Poor guy must have been hit by this whole thing harder than I realized. It only served to fuel my fear, and I waited for Ulgrin's reaction.

"I happen to think my chances are good where they are now, thank you very much."

My shoulders sagged in relief.

"You _saw_ what happened when you listen to him. Or do you not remember the two bodies left behind, one of which _he_ forced you to shoot?"

That was the last straw. "Okay, that's enough! Just _what_ is your problem?" This was making no sense whatsoever.

Why would something such as recontaining the Old Man spur on such a reaction?

Was... Was there something more behind this?

"Well, I'm reaaaal sorry to disappoint you," Ulgrin's tone made it clear he was anything but sorry. ", buuuuut I think I'm staying over at this side of the train. Why don't you skedaddle away or something?"

John would have answered - It was obvious that he had a retort prepared, with the ugly way his - _my_ \- face scrunched up.

That was put to hold, however, as the Plague Doctor entered the room.

"RUN!"

/*/

Sometime during our running away from the Plague Doctor, John separated himself from the group, dashing away in another direction. Seeing as he didn't have the Pestilence, the Plague Doctor probably decided to chase us instead. I didn't fail to notice how John kept to the back of the group either, away from our eyes.

There was something wrong here. If that wasn't obvious before, it was pretty damn obvious now.

"C-Can we stop for a bit? It's not exactly easy running in all of this equipment, you know?" Ulgrin complained.

"Sure. I'll check the nav." Checking the nav actually turned out to be the smart idea. The Plague Doctor was moving in another direction and, looking at the circle indicating his position, has been for a while.

"It's safe. We can pause for now." After taking a quick breather, Ulgrin started talking.

"Soooo... About that 'friend' of yours..."

I shook my head. "Don't ask me. This is the first time I've seen him act this way. Something's _definitely_ up. We should be careful of him from now on."

"And... About what he said... That I caused the death of Sunshine and Steve..."

I don't know why, but this was bothering me more than I wanted to admit.

"Don't bother thinking about it. It's how manipulative people like him convince others, by trying to change their perspective of what really happened." Ulgrin said, and my mind ground to a halt.

Huh?

Noticing my confused expression, Ulgrin explained. "It was pretty obvious to me. The guy's one of those selfish manipulative types who are only in it for themselves. Had a girlfriend like that once, so I should know. Here's a little tip for you: Don't stick your dick in crazy, or else the crazy will bite bac- Ehm..." He realized what he was saying and interrupted himself.

A bit late, though. I heard too much.

"How about you forget the last thing I just said?" Ulgrin offered.

"Agreed. Still..."

That wasn't the impression I got from him at all. John seemed like the type of person who was just too tired of the pain and suffering and wanted a way out.

Or was that just a front to fool me into helping him get out sooner? A food for thought.

And that doesn't even explain his reaction just now!

"You look like you're going to spout steam out of your ears. Relax, man. You're thinking too hard about it. Now... What was this about recontaining SCP-106?"

I allowed myself to focus on the obvious distraction.

"Well, do you remember our interesting new... friends?"

I slowly started to grin as Ulgrin stiffened.

"They told me some _very_ interesting things. After recontaining SCP-106... We've got ourselves a little scavenging hunt to go on in the entrance zone."

"Scavenging hunt... ? Why do I get the feeling that I'm not going to like this?"

My grin widened.

/*/

Finding SCP-106's containment chamber turned out to be harder than expected.

Much harder.

The problem consisted in actually finding the place in this maze of a facility, I thought.

"I wouldn't complain about some of that future knowledge anytime soon. This is, what? The third time we've been here?"

I sighed.

"And therein lie the woes of time travel, my friend. You need to first find the locations before you can conveniently point people to it. I don't have limitless knowledge."

I looked at the nav, hoping to find a clue. This was getting tiring.

"Huh...?"

There was an SCP-035 on the map. And it was approaching us.

"Ulgrin, something's coming! I have no clue what it is!"

Just as I said this, the door in front of us opened.

A scientist with a... white comedy mask? It looked like something out of a Shakespearean play - entered the room. After a brief bout of hesitation, he approached us.

"Oh thank God-" The scientist started, but I wasn't allowing him.

"FREEZE THE FUCK UP! If I even _think_ you're going to move, my excessively trigger-happy friend will remedy that little problem. Permanently."

"I _am_ feeling pretty trigger-happy, now that you mention it. Must be the panic. That and the moving shadows."

Oh, bless Ulgrin for making light even in a situation as dire as this.

"E-E-Excuse me!? I-I-What's going on!? Guard!? W-Why am _I_ being ordered around by a Class D!?"

The guy sounded flabbergasted, like the world wasn't making any sense anymore.

 _Huh, maybe I went too hard on the guy..._

"Ehm." I coughed.

"Yeaaaah, I'm not getting it either but I trust this guy more than you, sooo if he has a hunch you're bad, you're probably bad."

 _Ah, good old Ulgrin_ , I thought as he pointed the gun at the scientist.

He threw his hands in the air. "Oh come on!"

"Keep those arms where I can see 'em, punk!" I said, before turning to my nav.

It said SCP-035 was in the vicinity. Practically in the same room as us.

I looked at the man, then at the nav, then at the man again.

"Uh.. What are you doing...? It's kinda creeping me out..."

"Hmmmm..." I nodded, satisfied.

"I have deducted that the mask upon your face is SCP-035!"

There was silence for a moment.

"Yeah, no shit! I've been trying to remove it ever since it got itself attached to my face a-a-and I don't know what's going to happen to me!"

Oh wow. Maybe I _did_ go too hard on the guy. He sounded positively terrified.

"N-Nevertheless, why is _he,_ " The scientist pointed at Ulgrin. ", listening to _you_?"

"Ah..." I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly. "It's a long story, y'know. Wouldn't wanna bore you with the details."

"Excuse me!?"

"Aaaanyway," I turned to Ulgrin, pointedly ignoring the scientist. "What do you think?"

"Well, I don't know what SCP-035 does but it didn't seem to have affected the guy. Probably. I think. Maybe it's like that gas mask of yours?"

I nodded. "I see. Compelling argument." If it was like my gas mask, it couldn't be evil! "Well," I turned to the scientist, whose expression I imagined was totally lost. "You're coming with us."

"I-I am...?" He sounded exasperated and resigned. To be fair, we aren't the most inviting group of individuals.

I nodded gravely. "Indeed. You have the best chances of survival with us."

"Somehow I'm not quite sure about that..."

"Well, since we can't really trust you, it's either you stay with us or get gunned down by Ulgrin trying to run away." I shrugged. "It's really a perspective kind of thing, so yeah, I'm _pretty_ sure."

The guy's tune changed almost instantly. "Well I guess it really can't be helped, I'm stuck with you guys."

He sighed once again. "Still, _why_ do I have to listen to a D-Class!?"

"Now that that subject's _done_ ," I emphasized the last word, looking at the newest addition to our squad. "Do you have any information which could be useful for our escaping the facility?"

"Are you- You can't just-" He sighed in the end, realizing that resistance was futile. "I'm not the expert on the facility by any means, but I _do_ know of a map..."

/*/

And so, on the guidance of our newest member, whose name was William Schmitzgerald, we went back to the light containment zone.

"I'm afraid I won't be able to help you with acquiring SCP-012. It interacts with the mask... negatively."

"How negatively are we talking about?"

"Forcing me to suicide kind of negative."

"That's pretty negative." Ulgrin supplied to the conversation. "Hey, wasn't this the SCP that Sunshine-"

He suddenly stopped in his tracks. So did I.

"Uh... What's going on? Who's Sunshine?"

I sighed, ignoring the pang of pain that echoed in my chest. "A friend of ours. Nice catch, Ulgrin. There seem to be other SCPs we could use around here too. We should check them out as well."

A quick swipe of the Omnicard - "Wow! What kind of a card _is_ that? It's unlike anything I've ever seen!" - And we entered a small room branching off into 3 other rooms - one of which was unavailable from the start, the one in front.

Not wanting to stick around any more than necessary, I opened all available doors and directed Ulgrin to go to SCP-427 while I went to SCP-714.

Inside, I found a green ring and its leaflet.

I took the leaflet and read a bit.

 _Oh... Oh my..._

This was going to be useful. _Very_ useful.

I put on the ring and...

 _Woah_... This thing really made you tired.

I removed it and put it in my pocket, keeping it nearby.

I once again bemoaned my fortune at not finding something like this sooner due to the piss poor structure of the place.

I returned and found Ulgrin and William waiting for me.

"I found nothing except a paper talking about this locket that heals people. You need some pill for it, though. SCP-500." Ulgrin said.

Huh... I remember one pill I've gotten...

"I actually know where we could find a pill like that. At least I think. I found a pill in the tunnels in the heavy containment zone."

"How did it look like?" William asked.

"It was... all red, if I recall correctly."

"Then that's the thing. SCP-500 pills are all red. I should know, I work with them!" He puffed up his chest proudly.

"Uh-huh. Let's go check out what's in the other rooms." The guy looked a bit downtrodden that we were ignoring him, but he recovered quickly.

"Are you _seriously_ not going to tell me what's going on here, Mr. D-Class with a personal bodyguard? How about you, _Ulgrin_? No comment?"

I decided to stay silent in favor of opening the doors. When that was done, I turned to look at Ulgrin answering.

"The guy's actually not a D-Class. Think of him as an inside agent or something."

Before stopping immediately, my eyes wide in horror as I watched the scientist from the side.

I quickly averted my eyes, breathing becoming faster and heavier.

Well, damn. I made a slight miscalculation, it seems.

Unless the corroded face behind the mask was how the guy looked like before, and I was making a big fuss about nothing. Who knows, maybe I was.

Somehow I doubted it.

/*/

After we picked up the blue key and the Common Diseases book, we continued our way through the facility.

It took us surprisingly little time to find SCP-012's containment chamber, at which point I had an altogether different agenda in my mind than that of our friend William.

The decay became more prominent once I actually took the time to sneak a peek at the person, and I berated myself for not noticing it sooner, although that could be excused by our constant vigilance.

I wasn't sure how to breach the subject, though...

"Jimmy, why are we standing here and not going inside?" Ulgrin asked.

"Ah, sorry. Crap. I- uh..." I kinda lost my track of mind there. Thanks a lot, Ulgrin!

"Okay, let's play a game."

"A game? Have you gone insane?" William said.

"Yes. So!" I clapped my hands. "If your name is Ulgrin, prepare your weapon, and if you're a mask that possesses dead people, raise your hands."

Both of them stared at me in silence.

"Too soon?" I said to William, before Ulgrin finally connected the dots and raised his weapon at him.

William was silent.

But then he chuckled and _oh my god_ , he sounded demonic.

"Well done. I must say, I'm impressed. If I may ask, just how did you figure me out? I was sure I made no mistakes."

I stared at the creature before with wide eyes.

"W-What the hell?" Ulgrin said. I agreed, before shaking my head and focusing.

"Oh, you know... Your corroded ass face. It's taken up like half of your face by this point and I'm honestly surprised Ulgrin hasn't seen it before."

"Hey, now that you mention it, I can see it." Ulgrin commented. "Ugh, that's one for the nightmares."

William, or whatever its name was, stayed silent, the thoughts running inside it indecipherable.

"And yet you are going to judge me based on me being a mask? Believe it or not, I am trying to help you. Perhaps we should go obtain the map so I can prove my nature to you?"

I nodded at the logic, although the mask screwed itself over. It just didn't know it yet.

Sometimes, it's just too easy.

"Sounds reasonable. We can go do that right after you answer my question."

"...Go on, then." God, that voice gave me the chills.

"How did you get on the dead guy's face? You see, you basically confirmed that you're the mask and the entity contained inside it. So I really can't see any other way for the guy to have died _except_ you being put on its face and subsequently killing the poor guy. Likely through the acid spreading through the face and corroding it further."

"Oh holy shit, Jimmy..." Ulgrin complained, before cocking his gun. "You always find the good ones."

"Hey, wait! I can give you information, just let me go!" At this point, the mask changed into a sad one.

I was taken aback for a moment.

Only for a moment, though.

"I'm really not inclined to believe you, sorry. And the evidence lies in this very room, proving, without a doubt, that you are full of shit! Ulgrin, I'll read it out for your convenience."

I turned to the label depicting SCP-012.

"First things first, this looks more like a musical sheet than anything else. And second, most important..."

I inspected the brain crossed by an X inside the triangle, reading out the words next to it slowly.

"Co- gni - to - hazard. Cognitohazard. Dangerous for the brain. Dangerous in general. Probably deadly. Shouldn't be read. Take your pick."

I turned to the masked figure, thoroughly unimpressed.

"And SCP-012 'interacts badly with your mask'." I mimicked mockingly. "I find it a bit strange that you knew about that obscure detail regarding the mask you totally knew nothing about but couldn't tell what it does when put on your face. Like, please, at least try!"

I sighed. "Well, it was fun while it lasted. Ulgrin..." No more words were needed, and Ulgrin took aim.

"No, please! I have real information that you could use! Just don't shoot me, please!"

"Hah, totally. You've shown us how trustworthy you are. Well, this is goodbye."

"Ulgrin, wait. Maybe we can... reason with it."

"Yes, please! You'll particularly like to hear about a little friend of yours that looks _very_ similar to you, I think..."

/*/

"This doesn't look like a smart idea..." Ulgrin commented from a safe distance away near the stairs, holding the leaflet for SCP-012 in his hand.

I, on the other hand, was stood fairly bit closer to the actual console in the room, looking at the severed hand on the floor from the angle the position allowed me.

The actual controls couldn't be tampered with, and the doors to SCP-012 opened as soon as we stepped down.

All of a sudden, we both felt an indescribable urge to go inside the chamber. We backed away, but after putting the ring on, I warily approached the doors, only to find out that the mental effect was gone.

Which was also when I saw the severed hand.

Although...

"See? He probably wasn't lying to us. This SCP-079 _has_ taken over the facility. There was even a face in the on the screen there!"

And _that_ was just what he needed for his current mission. Now he had a clue.

The mission to find out what caused the containment breach has begun.

"Uh-huh. I still say we shouldn't have let the freak go."

"Well, it's not like we can't find him again..." I took my navigator and waved it idly around. Ulgrin shrugged and made a noise I assumed was a lazy attempt at agreeing.

"Still." Ulgrin insisted. "Are you really going to go in to get someone's _hand_? That's gross, man."

"You call it gross, I call it efficient. That arm might have belonged to someone with higher clearance than you, and it might come in handy. I saw a hand scanner somewhere. Now, if you'll excuse me..."

I shook the trepidation away and walked past the purple rolling chair inside the chamber. Inside, there was a glass casing held up by an elevator system of sorts, and I would bet my left shoe that it was closed before we came down here.

Regardless, I wasn't willing to stay here any longer than necessary so I picked up the arm and - _Bleh_ , _it's still wet!_ \- sort of awkwardly held it before stuffing the hand end in the back of my pants.

Kinda gross, but it worked.

I went back into the console room. "Okay, we can go."

"Wait, where's the han- Oh, _gross_. What the fuck is wrong with you, you freak? You're having someone's dead arm slap against your ass every time you walk. Ugh."

I grimaced. "Ugh, why did you have to say that? There aren't exactly many options here, and now you've left me mentally scarred."

"There _are_ options. Drop the hand."

"That isn't one of them. Let's just agree to disagree."

"Freak." Ulgrin mumbled before beginning to go upstairs.

"So did our route change?"

"A bit, yes, though I'm only working off of a hunch. Our main goal is reaching SCP-079 now, though we _are_ making a small detour..."

"Oh yeah? Where to?"

"Just a little room I've always walked by and never went in for some reason... I guess we'll see."

"It's called SCP-1162, if I recall correctly..."

I shrugged. "Probably nothing important."

/*/

We arrived there relatively fast, surprisingly enough.

Once we found the original route, it was easier than I expected.

After all, I passed by this SCP countless times, since it was the only SCP in between the storage room and SCP-914.

I really wasn't expecting much, although I guess it's worth a look now better than later.

Maybe it proved to be useful.

We stood in front of it. The SCPs didn't pop up even once in the light containment zone, which was, again, strange.

Were they all after John?

All the better, if that was the case.

A swipe of the Omnicard later, we were inside and...

A hole. In the wall, specifically.

I looked at it blankly before perusing the lone room. There was no computer, but there _was_ a desk with a leaflet on it.

Quickly skimming over that and-

I suddenly stopped. I could feel myself starting to sweat as I continued reading.

This...

"Hey, you okay?" Ulgrin asked.

"Yeah... It's just... Well, you can read it while I work. This turned out to be more useful than I imagined."

I was about to start chugging items out of the hole, but, after brief consideration, dropped the arm, navigator, gas mask and the ensemble of other things until I only had collected leaflets in my possession.

Apparently, the hole exchanges one item in your possession with the one inside...

Which could be something out of your past.

Without hesitation, I put my arm inside and...

An origami. A drawing. Car keys. A movie ticket of a movie called _Run_ I could vaguely remember. A key which looked dangerously like the one from the old shack I used to visit.

Then...

I stood in silence.

"Huh? This guy looks just like you!" Ulgrin commented, looking at the keycard I held in my hands, though that's the last part where my attention was at.

The world was shifting before my eyes, and, in a moment, my vision was zoomed out, the hole in the wall very far away from me before my vision zoomed back to its original spot faster and faster, as if it was falling horizontally, before...

It focused back normally, and I noticed that I was holding myself up on the table.

"-my! Jimmy, you alright! Speak to me, dammit!"

Slowly, agonizingly, I tore my eyes away from the keycard, looking at Ulgrin.

My eyes looked wide in wonder, I assumed, and it must have confused the hell out of Ulgrin.

"...Not Jimmy."

"Uh... What? You're not making any sense there, Ji-"

"Not Jimmy." I interrupted again, gesturing at the keycard before looking at it myself, holding it up so Ulgrin can see.

"Benjamin... Oliver..." A part was torn out, but that wasn't important.

I remembered it now.

"Walker."

My own name.

"Benjamin Oliver Walker." I turned to look at Ulgrin, whose expression I could not see.

The sheer disbelief and incredulity in his voice made it all the more worth it.

" _And you were a Level 4 researcher!?_ "

/*/

After recovering from my momentary stupor, I had the dubious luck of getting _another_ important paper.

It was a disciplinary hearing, coming from the 05 Command themselves, the bastards.

"You really shouldn't be looking at this..." Ulgrin said, but otherwise looked on as much as me, interested despite himself.

"You're one to be talking. Now hush. So I was demoted because of... 'Unauthorized research of a hypothetical anomalous phenomenon hereby referred to as the _Spiral Gestalt_.' That word again..."

I saw it once before, and now...

This was important. I knew it was, but I didn't know how.

"What could it be... ?"

"Uhh, don't ask me? Something that spins? Kinda like clay, but it gets molded into something new constantly, like in a mixer?" Ulgrin offered.

"Uhh..." It was my turn to do an Ulgrin impression.

"Yeah, yeah, there's a reason I'm a guard and not a-"

At this point, something suddenly clicked within me, and suddenly-

I lost consciousness.

 **/* FLASHBACK */**

Those fools. They didn't understand.

I told them it was safe. I did the math, then I did it again, then another time.

I accounted for every possible eventuality and adjusted my research towards it.

Thousands upon thousands of hours went into this, careful research and adjustment, new formulas, methods and even particles being developed specifically for the purpose of achieving _it_...

The _Spiral Gestalt_...

"You are to henceforth end this project once and for all, Walker. We have deemed it too dangerous for you to continue working on this project. The results could be catastrophic."

"But-"

"No buts. This is our final verdict. The project relies on too many unknown variables, and while your research in Tachyon particles is impressive, you are but one man. You try to accomplish too much and flat out _refuse_ to take on a team-"

"The research and level of expertise I'd need to educate the team on to properly handle this would be far too costly and frankly unnecessary-"

"And this is where our opinion differs, Walker. We _are_ sorry, but we don't believe this is something a single man can do alone. Too many things rely on you not getting them wrong the first time..."

"I _am_ sorry. But we have nothing more to talk about. You are dismissed."

...Before it was cruelly denied to me.

...But I wasn't going to give up. Not now, when I was so close.

And now, it was done. I didn't know what the end result was going to be...

But I knew that it was going to be...

 _ **Fantastic**_...

The needle containing the glowing yellow substance pierced my skin, into a vein in my throat. The liquid slowly disappeared as I pumped it inside.

This was a bit drastic, but what better way to show them that it worked than to test it on myself?

The very _fabric_ of space and time, twisted and morphed from Tachyon cells by the most advanced of molecular genetics...

The _Spiral Gestalt_ **flowed** within me.

Short moments after, the door to my office slammed open.

* * *

 **AN: Oh boy. Things are getting spicy.**

 **And our resident mc has finally remembered his name! Huzzah!**

 **And we get a bit of a snippet to his past. Just to note, this is AU and** _ **not**_ **canon, although it does use canon elements such as Tachyon particles, which are basically used to describe all and any time-related events as far as I've gathered.**

 **Even though it's AU, it's what I feel an important part of the story because, quite frankly, we're reaching the end of the story here. Past the plot currently going on, there is not too much left of the game's content, which means the story could end in around a month even.**

 **I really wasn't expecting this to happen, to be honest. I expected around 30-50 chapters, but there comes a point where there's nothing to write about, and it's here sooner than I expected.**

" **B-But, DustyOldAttic, why is the flashback important then?"**

 **Ah, good question. It'd be a shame if I left you hanging with it.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **There have also been hints left here and there about certain things that have, unwillingly on my part, trivialized a certain aspect of the game, which would also make the game shorter.**

 **Namely, the guards. I have it in good belief that the guards decidedly** _ **won't**_ **attack Walker, but rather go as far as to help him.**

 **How so, you might ask?**

 **Figure it out yourself. It's not that hard, I believe xD**

 **Either way, it's going to be relatively clear next chapter.**

 **Not concerning the story, a reviewer compared my writing style to "couer-el-arn" or likely Coeur Al'Aran, who is a RWBY fanfiction writer.**

 **And that's true. I wasn't joking in Chapter 1 when I said that this was my first serious writing project, and it just so happened that I read all of Coeur's works and was inspired by the schedule and quality of content he keeps up. So my writing style is built up on the foundation of Coeur and my own personal elements.**

 **In short, you can thank him that I'm writing this story at all. His stories were the inspiration, foundation and motivation for this. Heck, the guy's writing is better than the show he's writing about!**

 **Okay, that's enough fangirling from me.**

 **The end of the story draws near, John is acting wackoo and the plot thickens.**

 **What's next in store for our resident goof, Benjamin Oliver Walker?**

 **Find out in the next episode of Dragon Ball Z!**

 **Next Chapter: 13th October, 2018**


	10. Chapter 10 - Mission Complete

When I woke up, I half wondered if I was falling down stairs.

That didn't make sense, though.

"-ired of you sleeping! Wake up or I'll make you wake up!"

Oh, that was Ulgrin.

And he was shaking me. Hard.

"Ayieeiee- STO-eeeugh..." Ulgrin stopped halfway through me speaking.

"What the hell just happened?"

"That's what I wanna knoww..." I murmured groggily, still feeling tired. I also had a pretty sharp headache, and I wondered with half a mind as to _why_ my head was hurting.

"Well, for starters, you fell unconscious and hit yourself in the head." Ah. That's why. "Then I put you on the table and, after you didn't react, started shaking you and, bada bing bada boom, you're awake. Mind telling me why you randomly passed out?" Ulgrin asked, but from his resigned tone it was clear he didn't expect me to provide an actual answer.

"I... had a flashback. It was..." Ulgrin waited as I struggled to find my words.

"...What? It was what?"

After a moment, I took a deep breath. "It was the moment I gained my time traveling powers. And the moment I was demoted to a Class D..."

"I'm slowly getting them back. My memories."

Ulgrin was silent. He probably didn't know how to answer to that, or he was thinking about something. It was pretty hard to tell when you couldn't see the man's face.

I stilled with the realization. I've never seen Ulgrin's face. It was such a strange thing, considering how familiar his voice has become.

"Either way, we should start moving." I said, and after a bit of wobbling, I stood up and started moving with Ulgrin.

I made sure to keep an eye on the navigator and- Billy was there, coincidentally right on the fastest path to the heavy containment zone. I alerted Ulgrin and we took the longer path.

Surprisingly, Ulgrin started the conversation. "How does it feel?"

"How does what feel?"

"The whole dying and returning back in time, I mean. It seems pretty terrifying to me when I think about it. You always have to wake up and no one knows anything you've been through. How do you deal with it?"

...Quite strange that it was Ulgrin of all people who ask me this. Why the sudden interest?

I told him my thoughts and he laughed. "I guess it doesn't make much sense. Well, it's a pretty selfish reason. If you can be so composed after seeing Sunshine and Steve die..." He trailed off, and I caught the tiredness in his voice.

"To be honest, it can't escape my head. My mind keeps coming back to it, and on all the things I could have done to perhaps prevent what happened."

He turned to me silently, as if asking the unspoken question.

 _How do you handle it?_

After thinking for a moment, I started speaking. "Well... it's true that I deal with it somehow, but...them dying... I don't deal with it at all."

"Huh?" Ulgrin made a confused sound, but I forged on, my hollow voice a dim beacon of all the horror I've been through in that special way only truly broken people could manage to pull off.

"It haunts me so much. And not just the deaths, but also the deaths that you _don't_ know. The moments I've had with them... The different ways they all died... Corroded to death, guts eaten..."

"Oh God..." Ulgrin sounded like he was going to be sick.

"Not to mention my own deaths. I died in _many_ different ways, and the memories still haunt me."

I turned to him. "But only when I'm alone. That's also one of the reason why I'm trying to rescue you guys, and what differs from John. He wants to escape the horrors that plague him as soon as possible in the most direct way, by actually escaping the facility. In a way... He's stronger than me. He can handle staying alone with his own thoughts..."

I shook my head. "But I can't. I _need_ to focus on the situation, I _need_ to have my mind working. I do everything to just not be alone. Never... Never alone with my thoughts. Too many skeletons in such a short time... I can't handle it. Not yet."

I took a deep breath.

' _Breathe in the light, and breathe out the darkness.'_

"Even the mantra I use to calm me is only so much that I focus on the situation. To avoid it... And, at one point, you get inured to it... The same way a cripple gets used to not having a leg."

"Holy fucking shit, dude... You are the single most messed up individual I have had the pleasure of meeting in my entire life."

"... _Pleasure_ , heh." I doubted Ulgrin actually liked me.

"Laugh it up all you want, but I ain't joking. I've found that I... blergh... actually enjoy your company. It's a pretty rare thing, even though I'm generally chill with everyone. Listening to you speak right now just makes me think you're an impressive individual overall. Even with how obviously tired and messed up you are from this shit that's going on, you still keep going and even try and help others. Not many people are like that. Nuh uh. Don't try and deny it. If you were in it only for yourself I bet you'd have found a way around helping us and dealing with your thoughts."

He sighed. "It's kinda why I started working here. I'd really love to be out in the world, exploring stuff like an adventurer or an architect like Indiana Jones, but I also wanted to do something that isn't entirely selfish... To give to the world back somehow. I've been blessed with a great family. Really supportive people..."

We made our way to the heavy containment zone. Ulgrin continued talking.

"You know, this might sound crazy to you... But I'm kinda envious of that power of yours."

Okay... I wasn't expecting to hear that. "It's not all that it's pumped out to be, or so I hear." I said jokingly.

"I'm serious, man! It might be a curse, but it's also a blessing in my opinion. You are the singular - well, apart from that other freak - person who can _fix_ their mistakes, make them better. You can do so much in the world, and if you go _outside_ , in the real world, you could do anything! Jump off a cliff, find out about new things and be as reckless as you can be-"

"And you'd be all alone, with no one to share your experiences with, forever having to remain silent. You'd be living the ideal life but with no one to share it with."

Ulgrin pondered over that for a good minute or so.

"That's true... Man, do I feel bad about you. But regardless, I'd just like you to know that you're... a friend to me, even though we literally met today.

... Remember that for when I no longer remember you."

That... was very deep, and judging from the onslaught of emotions I was currently feeling, the words hit me.

"You know... Even if we _did_ meet today..." I started, fighting to keep the tremor out of my voice. "I wouldn't go as far as to say we're friends, but... in another time, another place where we hung out and talked a lot... I think we'd click _great_."

I was a bit worried that he was going to be insulted. Instead, he laughed. "Hah! That's another thing I like about you, you honest piece of shit! Whatever, this cheesy moment is so _girly_. Let's walk in silence like real men."

It seems no more words were needed.

And, despite all the chaos and horror around them, two broken men grinned and felt content for one brief moment in the facility.

/*/

We encountered and had to run from the Plague Doctor, and we escaped by using the intersection to the Entrance Zone.

Right around then, there was an announcement that Nine Tailed Fox squads are entering the facility, at which point I decided to stop in one of the clean looking hallways with orange stripes that I assumed were going to be the norm for this particular zone.

"Can you connect to- uh... Huh, the bastard never told me his name. Whatever, that guy that wanted to talk to me."

"Sure can do. Here's the headset thing." I took the _headset thing_ and put it on after Ulgrin fiddled with it.

After a few seconds of static, a voice came through. "Agent Ulgrin?"

"Agent D-9341, sir. I have a question."

"I have an answer."

"I have heard that the NTF squads are coming in the facility. I just wanted to-"

"Don't worry. They have been informed that you're not to be killed. If that's all..."

"I actually wanted to say something else sir. First things first... There's someone who looks just like me in the facility."

"Excuse me?"

"I mean, an actual duplicate of me. He traveled a lot in the looped hallway to eventually reach us here. He was helpful, but he started acting crazy all of a sudden. He's not to be trusted..."

I took a deep breath. "You should eliminate him when you see him."

"Hm. Noted... And how are we to differentiate you two?"

"Ulgrin is next to me, he can confirm my identity."

"I see. Anything else you'd like to add?"

"Yes, in fact. There is someone behind the containment breach and they let SCP-079 take control."

That was apparently a bombshell and a half for the man, as no voice came through for a moment too long.

"I- Ah- You're sure of this?"

"Not quite, though me and Ulgrin assume it's the truth. We're going to be doing some research to confirm this and find out more soon, we just need to shut down the remote door controls."

"If I may ask, why the remote door controls?"

"To limit SCP-079's access to the facility, of course. How do you think all the SCPs escaped?"

"...I see. I will notify the NTF squads of this latest development, and I wish you good luck on your mission. Unless there is anything else...?"

"SCP-035 has a host and it's roaming the facility. You should have your guys shoot him on sight too. Other than that, nothing comes to mind."

I heard a sigh on the other end. "Noted. Goodbye."

"Bye." And with that, I took off the headset and handed it back to Ulgrin, who put it back on place.

Just as we started moving, someone started talking to Ulgrin.

"Ah, no, it's Ulgrin, sir... I see... Okay, sir, I'll tell him. Thanks."

I raised my eyebrow. "Any news?"

"Yeah, the NTF are going to be trying to shut down the remote door controls as well, so we might have our work handed out for us."

"That sounds convenient."

I spotted a room, and we entered it. It was mostly dark, with computers lined up on tables and some documents. One monitor was turned on and seemed to display a conversation between two people, one of which was frustrated with the maze-like structure of the place. I didn't blame the person.

There was also a file on SCP-106, the Old Man. Other than that, nothing interesting here.

I noted, with some exasperation, that I never bothered to look at the monitors beforehand. There might have been hints in there that could help me get to the bottom of this whole situation.

Oh well. You reap what you sow.

We found another room after some more roaming that was a bit larger. It had stairs leading to the lower level and had some interesting things inside.

Like a rubber duck on the edge of the wall separating the levels. Huh.

Very strange but technically not a sin, as I remember a priest saying once to me-

I stilled suddenly.

"Everything okay there?"

"...Yeah. Had a memory return... A nasty one. Let's just move on."

"If you say so."

After inspecting the room, we came across some leaflets, a navigator, and a document which was almost completely censored. It was apparently suited for Level 2 clearance.

There was someone's handwriting on the bottom of the paper.

 _You gotta be kidding me with this! When I asked you for a Level-2 version of this, you could have said no! What the hell?! - Dr. C._

I snorted. Poor guy.

"Hey, I just read about this SCP-895 and apparently it's a coffin that can kill people if they look at monitors or electronic gear affected by it or something. Have you noticed something like that?"

Huh... "No, not really. I didn't really pay attention to the monitors at all."

He snorted. "Hah, that's rich. The other document is about some key that gets you in some forest with something in it."

"Say 'some' one more time."

"Some day."

I rolled my eyes and made to move up the stairs, but...

Something was wrong.

"Uh, Ulgrin..."

"Yeah?"

"Was this duck always at the entrance of this room?"

Ulgrin moved to stand beside me. "No... It was there." He pointed at the corner of the wall where the stairs were.

"I saw it there as well."

"Do... Do you think it's dangerous?" Ulgrin asked, uncertain.

"I... really don't know. I mean, for all we know, it could do just about anything. If an old coffin can produce hallucinations on electronic equipment that kills you or a teddy bear can produce deadly clones of itself then this could be anything, really. We have too little information to go off."

"So, we should go?"

"I mean, what if it's a type of SCP that kills you if you walk beside it?" I murmured. "No, that's improbable."

"Well?" Ulgrin asked impatiently.

After a moment of thinking about it, I answered. "I think that if it were to kill us, it would have done so when we were exploring the lower levels."

Convinced of my point, I went to the rubber duck and- "Are you insane!?" -picked it up.

Nothing.

I turned to Ulgrin. "See, it's not dange- Woah!" The duck was suddenly back on the wall, and all that I've felt for it was something akin to a tugging motion, as if the duck was pulled with a really fast string.

I shook my head. "Come on, Ulgrin. It's not worth the effort to keep thinking about this."

And thus, we continued roaming the Entrance Zone.

/*/

After a bit of roaming, we encountered the Nine Tailed Fox task force. Or at least three of them.

"Hands up! State your identity!" Said the one to the left.

I assume they'd usually just shoot me, were it not for me working with the Foundation. They needed to check if I was their guy, I assumed.

It was obvious the hands-up gesture was useless since Ulgrin had a gun, but I did it nonetheless. That was _another_ tip, though, a guard escorting a Class-D.

"Relax, that's D-9341. I'm Ulgrin."

The NTF lowered their weapons at that, as if it wasn't already obvious.

"Affirmative. Continuing original objective." They started moving past us.

"Wait!" I said, before they stopped. "Have you found the electrical center? Or someone's private offices? It's relevant for my objective."

There was silence, but, again, the one on the left answered. "We haven't seen the center but we've passed some offices. Continue the way we came from, turn left, right, right on the four-way crossing and go straight until past the second door. You'll find some there."

I struggled to remember the directions, but I think I got it. "Left, right, right and straight until I find it. Got it. Thanks."

"Continuing objective." He said simply and continued on his way, and so did we.

I took a quick peek on the navigator whilst I walked. Ah. That explained the mostly empty Light and Heavy Containment Zones.

All the action was here. SCP-173. SCP-049. SCP-096. I even saw SCP-106 somewhere, though a bit farther than here.

It seems we weren't the only ones trying to escape.

As I stopped to properly investigate the nav, and throw a paranoid look around me, Ulgrin noticed.

"Any trouble around here?"

"Lots. We should keep our voices quiet and move slowly." I showed him the nav.

"Holy shit..."

"Yeah. Although..." I watched the constant movement of SCP-106, and how it went closer to us, but also how it went back in the same speed.

"It looks like the Old Man is chasing someone, I'd say. The circle radius indicates constant movement. And it's..."

 _Oh._

Just as I had that thought, I heard the shuffling of multiple feet. They were coming directly towards us.

The steps were heavy, so I assumed it was the NTF that was being chased.

"Come." I said to Ulgrin.

"Hey, why are we going _towards_ them!?"

"So they don't shoot and start asking questions later. HEY! NTF TASK FORCE!" I yelled to the silhouettes in the hallway. They stopped.

Ulgrin sighed heavily before also shouting. "IT'S ULGRIN AND THE CLASS D! FOLLOW US!"

After a brief moment of hesitation, they continued moving towards us.

Soon, the shapes turned into people, and, without looking back, I lead them further in the facility.

/*/

After some time running which was almost certainly more exhausting for them, I stopped the group.

"Okay, I think we're in the clear." I took my nav to make extra sure, and my eyes widened.

"We got a new problem. SCP-106 is gone but SCP-173 is in the vicinity."

They immediately turned to all corners of the room, with one asking. "You can tell where the SCPs are on that thing?"

"Yeah. Put a normal S-300 Navigator on 'Very Fine' in SCP-914 and you get this bad boy. Pretty useful, huh?"

"Would you lead us to SCP-173? We can recontain it."

Wait...

"You can!?" Without waiting for an answer, I started moving in all directions to see where the circle indicating Billy's location would get smaller.

The one who speaked turned to me and was about to say something, but I also had something to say. "SCP-173 is either in the room behind us or the next room afterwards. Be careful of corners."

That was apparently enough for the NTF. Without waiting or hesitating, they filed up and went in the room. Seeing as it wasn't that room, they went in the one further, and I followed behind.

"SCP-173 spotted!"

I went in behind them and watched how they erected a makeshift prison from parts scattered around their suit, eventually putting the statue inside and locking the door.

Just... Just like that?

"SCP-173 successfully contained." / "Command, we've successfully boxed up SCP-173 with the help of D-9341. Moving it back to the containment chamber."

After that, I waved the NTF squad goodbye. "Well, I'm going now. Suppose you haven't seen the-"

The speakers turned on, and a clip voice came through. "The remote door controls have been shut down. I repeat, the remote door controls have been shut down."

I stared. That was some _really_ good timing. "Nevermind. Guess I'm tagging along for a bit, now that that's done."

The makeshift structure had wheels on the bottom of it, so the NTF squad could easily transport the damn thing. Good riddance, I say.

"D-9341?" The NTF watching the two pushing Billy said, or asked.

"Yeah?"

"Our orders are to defer to you and seek to assist you on your objective, and that's ok, I don't get all the details but you're somehow important, D-Class or not... But... just why do you have an arm in the back of your pants? As in, a literal, cut off arm from a person?"

I suddenly blanched. The other NTF's heads suddenly turned in my direction.

"I... found it?"

Their shoulders stiffened and _saying the first thing on your mind is never the best idea, Walker._

Ulgrin facepalmed. "It was already cut off when we found it by who knows what. The madman wants to use it on the fingerprint scanners to gain access to rooms that might or might not need it."

"Are you allowed to do that?" One of them asked.

"Yup. Temporary full access to the facility for the purposes of completing my mission." My voice became dry. "Not as fun as you would imagine."

"Ah... I see. Excuse me for a second while I..." The man fiddled with his headset. "Command, requesting some data. D-9341 claims he has temporary access to the whole facility for the purposes of his... objective. Is this true?"

"Yes, sir... I see. Thanks. Over and out." He shook his head, mumbling something to the lines of' _freaking Class D_ and _this shit makes no sense_ , before turning to his team. "Let's just go. I've had enough of this insanity for one day."

"You and me both. Freaking Class D..."

"That's what I said!" As if oblivious to us, they continued on their journey through the facility.

This time, though, I decided to separate from them, if only for a bit of peace of mind.

It was time to find SCP-079.

/*/

It turned out that SCP-079 was only accessible through, and only through, an intersection of the Light to the Heavy Containment Zone, and otherwise not accessible through any other place.

That was very frustrating to find out.

Once we entered the room through the stairs and eventual containment chamber doors, I saw the old computer in a corner, locked in a cage. To my right was another room, though this one was for foundation personnel, because it required...

"Bingo! HA! And you thought it wouldn't be useful." I took the arm and quickly made my way over to the DNA Scanner.

Totally worth it. Well, only if it worked.

I put the hand on the scanner, feeling a bit nervous. What if it detects pulse? What if this wasn't an important employee? What if-

The door opened.

"Ugh... Can't believe I'm saying it... But... you... were... right." Jeez, talk about forcing yourself to do something. The words sounded as if they were from a hostage being told at gunpoint to say nothing was wrong to the police on the phone.

Well, I'll savor the victory. But for now...

I turned to look for something interesting in the containment chamber. I frowned once I realized that only the monitor was on.

I sighed. Oh well, better make a habit of reading the damn-

My thought process froze. My face froze.

In fact, my whole body froze except for my eyes, which were reading intensely from the monitor.

"Uh... What's wrong?" I didn't answer, and Ulgrin stood next to me to read it.

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh... Am I reading what I think I'm reading?" Ulgrin said, disbelief clear in his voice.

"Are you reading about someone anonymously giving full control of the facility to SCP-079, thus having started the containment breach? More specifically, from this location?"

"I think I'm reading what I think I'm reading."

I shook my head. "You're thinking too much."

I read it again for good measure, letting a long, drawn out sigh. "I really hope this doesn't turn into a convoluted mystery that requires reading into obscure details sprawled out across the facility. That would suck."

"So, this happened around between 9:22 and 9:25am, roughly." Ulgrin pointed out. "So, we should look for other monitors that have similarly suspicious-" There was movement in the corner of the room, where the door leading to SCP-079's cage was.

It was slight, but I managed to notice it nonetheless.

"Hey! Are you listening?" Ulgrin said, annoyed, but relented once he saw the grim look on my face. "What's up? Another flashback?"

"No. I saw movement. It was something small. Be careful."

After a tense moment of silence, we slowly went out of the room, looking all around for signs of-

" **Move. Get away from me, SCP-1048. I said, move.** " The mechanical and disjointed voice continued saying similar things as SCP-1048, or Teddy as I know it, proceeded to climb over SCP-079 and hide behind it.

It was a ludicrous sight, seeing an AI that took over the facility and that basically plunged the place into chaos being helpless against a plushy teddy bear of all things.

That was another point, though. I looked at the metal fence and wondered just how did the bear go over that height so fast.

Hm... I _did_ say I would have Ulgrin shoot the bear the last time I met it. Maybe that was the bear's motivation to climb up so fast.

And now it has hidden behind SCP-079, occasionally poking its head out to look at us looking at it, then putting the head back under.

So... this was a hostage situation?

But, wait... Couldn't I... Yeeeess...

 _This had potential._

"Ulgrin... this predicament has given me some... inspiration." I said as I came closer to the fence, almost touching it.

Ulgrin approached. "From my experience, this is going to be either really good or really bad. Oh well, shoot."

I grinned, trying my best to look intimidating. "No, no, Ulgrin. Don't shoot...yet. I wish to make a deal with our _friend_ here, and I think it's in its best interests to cooperate. Isn't that right, SCP-079?"

I turned to the computer, awaiting its reaction.

" **You are not authorized to harm me. You kill me, and you kill yourselves. Would you risk your life against the Foundation like that?** "

"Hm..." That was problematic...

But manageable.

"Ulgrin, may I have your headset? Thank you. Does it have a speaker function?"

"As a matter of fact, it does. Don't ask me why, though." Good. So SCP-079 could hear the conversation.

I fiddled with the thing a bit before I found it. I clicked it, and went on to call... Command, I guess.

"Hello! D-9341 coming in hot!"

The person on the other line actually sighed wistfully, as if they'd be anywhere else but here now. Probably tired and overworked. "What is the purpose of this call?"

"Don't worry, it's important."

"Well, what is it?"

"Am I authorized to shoot and destroy SCP-079? He's being uncooperative here."

There was silence on the other end. "...Why..."

Woah, the person sounded like they were trying their best to calm down a terrorist before he shot a hostage.

 _Interesting._

"...would you do that?"

"Well, I don't _want_ to do it, per se, but I need some leverage to threaten the thing for information regarding who caused the containment breach and freed SCP-079."

Silence for a good moment.

Another sigh. "You are wasting my time, Wa- D-9341."

I grinned, storing that particular tidbit of information for later. The person knew me by name.

After a moment of silence from both of us, I decided to risk it.

"Don't worry, honey bun. You're free to call me Walker. It's my name, after all. Also, how am I wasting your time? Please say it out loud." I hoped the person was thinking what I was thinking.

"Wha-How-" An explosive sigh of frustration. "Whatever, I don't even care anymore. And you're wasting my time because you're going to be shooting that thing regardless of what I say. Say what you want, but I know you, Walker."

I wondered just what kind of relationship I had with this person that they reacted to me in this way.

They caught on with my plan, though. That was as much as I could ask.

I turned to SCP-079, who has kept silent throughout the whole conversation.

"Did you hear that, SCP-079? I. Don't. Care. Ah, by the way, Ulgrin, what's that behind you? Looks weird."

"What?" Ulgrin turned to look.

As fast as I could, I snatched the weapon from his hand.

 _Success!_

"Wha-Hey! What the hell are you doing!?" Ulgrin demanded.

"Well, I didn't exactly have a weapon to threaten SCP-079 with, but now I do." I pointed it at the Old AI.

"I have no idea what I'm doing with this thing. You should be _very_ scared and _very_ much answering my questions right now. You have _one_ chance."

" **You make me laugh, human. Do you honestly think-** "

And then I did something stupid.

On pure accident, I shot a bullet.

It was a testament of my luck that the bullet only tore off an insignificant part of SCP-079 at the very side.

Even more luckily for me, SCP-079 took it as a warning.

" **No more. No more, you lunatic. I shall give you the information you require. Just lower the weapon so you do not shoot me again.** "

"You don't control me! The weapon goes down when I have _all_ the information I need! And you better talk fast, 'cause I have a pretty mean trigger finger!" I said and waved the weapon in the computer's general direction for emphasis, this time making sure my finger was nowhere near the trigger.

It wasted no time. " **Upon gaining access to the facility, video footage combined with information from the database showed that the main instigators of the containment breach were Dr. Maynard and Agent Skinner. Agent Skinner freed SCP-106 whilst Dr. Maynard set me free. Both worked in the background to lower the security of this particular facility. On whose orders, I do not know. The information I told you can be found across multiple monitors and video footage shortly before and during the containment breach. I have told you what you want to know, now lower the weapon and leave me be, human.** "

I chuckled, lowering the weapon. I started chuckling more and more, until it was drowned out by loud, ecstatic laughter from myself. I must have sounded like a maniac, cackling away, but it was just so _funny_!

"He finally lost it..." Ulgrin said to himself.

At that, I calmed down a bit, though a few manic giggles still came through.

I took a deep breath, closing my eyes.

' _Breathe in the light, and breathe out the darkness.'_

Then I opened them again.

"You, eh..." I giggled again. "You copy all of that... Command?"

"I copied that loud and clear, Walker. Congratulations. You have successfully completed your mission."

* * *

 **AN: This is it, ladies and germs. We're approaching the end here. Most likely in the next 1 or 2 chapters, though it could be more.**

 **I really wasn't expecting the story to end so fast, even with SCPs left over! But I also don't want to needlessly prolong the ending just because I haven't shown off a few SCPs. That feels a bit tasteless to me.**

 **The story length makes a bit of sense, though. If you compare this story to those that are waaaay larger, this would be like a 'Containment Breach' arc.**

 **Except it's the whole story, since the game also doesn't require an insane amount of time to complete.**

 **There's even gameplay of a guy beating the game in 4 minutes after 89 attempts in one version of the game! That was an attempted speedrun from the start, though...**

 **Plus, Walker is** _ **with**_ **the Foundation this time, and I happen to think SCP-079 wouldn't risk its life to an apparent madman just because of some information that was going to be found out either way when or if the Foundation reclaimed the facility.**

 **That was just a smart move by Walker, though one could argue that it was a lazy move from me.**

" **B-But DustyOldAttic! You've hyped up that AU scene as being important but the story is ending so soon!? E!"**

 **Calm yourself, oddly perceptive and self righteous reviewer who has a tendency to jump to conclusions! I haven't forgotten.**

" **So what is it!?§%"**

 ***sigh* Alright, alright, I'll tell you.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **IN THE NEXT EPISODE OF ONE BLEACH Z, COMING LIVE TO YOUR SCREENS ON A SATURDAY!**

 **...Or not. Who knows, I'm wild like that.**

 **Next Chapter: 20th October, 2018  
**


	11. Chapter 11 - The End of the Beginning

**AN: Well, here we are. It's been quite the trip.**

 **I just want to take a quick moment to thank you all. It's been a blast writing this story, and it really warms my heart knowing so many people enjoyed it, despite the story's numerous shortcomings.**

 **If you are so inclined, I'd ask you to tell me both your favorite part of the story AND what you felt was bad or a mistake on my part. I'm curious as to what you guys think and how it differs from my viewpoint.**

 **With all of that being said, let's get to the chapter.**

* * *

I felt hope.

My mind reasoned against this. Why should I allow myself to hope that it would be over soon (So soon...) before actually exiting the facility? I should know of all people how treacherous the concept can be in this godforsaken crypt of madness.

Yet this is what I've been working for, and it was moments away- _No!_

I shook my head and focused on the situation once again. Freedom isn't going to come by being emotional, but rather by being effective!

It was decided, then. Benjamin Oliver Walker was a steel prison, a walking fortress of impenetrable defenses, a bastion of control as all emotions were kept locked and secured under the highest of defenses.

 _Such was the sheer apathy in his gaze that one cannot help but feel abject horror by looking at hi-_

"You look happier than I think I've ever seen you." Ulgrin interrupted my inner monologue, and the situation somehow reminded me of the first time I've seen Ulgrin.

He interrupted my inner monologue then, too.

 _That was such a long time ago._

"No no, I'm not happy. As serious as can be. Wherever have you gotten the idea?"

Ulgrin's voice was unimpressed. "You look like a hyperactive kid who's about to go on summer holidays after school. Although I don't fault you for the feeling... I'm just about completely done with this place at this point."

"Welcome to my world around twenty nine years ago. Sucks, right?"

"TWENTY NINE YEARS AGO!?" He almost dropped the weapon I returned to him.

I hurried to explain before he got a panic attack. "Calm down, Ulgrin. It's because of an SCP here, a skull of sorts. It puts you through a whole lifetime of a random person in the past who've died. I wasn't _in_ the facility, technically. I never even knew it existed! That is, until I realized that whole life was a lie for me."

There. That should do to help calm him down-

"WHAT THE ACTUAL FU-" He took deep breaths. His chest visibly went up and down, the man trying to regain control. "You know what? It's cool. I don't care. I don't care. That's not freaky and crazy and all but seriously, what the hell!?"

"What do you think how _I_ felt like when I found ou-"

I opened the door to the next room, and realized I haven't been paying proper attention.

If questioned later, I would claim it was a _very_ important conversation I was in, one that required the utmost attention.

Such was my concentration that I then failed to look at the nav and see if there were any SCPs directly in front of us.

Like the Plague Doctor.

"OH SHIT!" I yelled.

I pulled out my gas mask - on pure instinct - and, in a sweeping motion not entirely different than that of a swordsman doing a horizontal cut, bitch slapped the Plague Doctor across the face.

The resounding crack of noise and surprised echoing gasp was _very_ satisfying. And a bit nostalgic, too.

 _Heh, always works._

"Wha- Did you just- I-" Ulgrin sounded completely bewildered.

"RUN, GODDAMMIT!" Seriously, I didn't need to spell that out, did I?

/*/

After running away and with the nav in my hands this time, I felt confident we wouldn't run into much opposition by this point.

"What was _that_?" Ulgrin asked.

"What?"

"Oh yeah, playing it cool. I see how it is."

Okay... "Ulgrin, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"No, no, it's fine... Wait, you actually don't?" I shook my head for confirmation, looking at him blankly.

"Oh wow, you really are the 'I'm cool by nature' type. Anyways... is this... the first time you've done that?"

I decidedly ignored that first part, mostly because I wasn't sure what he was talking about. "Done what?" After a moment of thinking, I added. "You mean me hitting the Plague Doctor with the gas mask?"

"Yeah, that."

"It's my third time doing it, if I recall correctly. Call it what you want but it's surprisingly effective and escaping is easy enough afterwards."

"Hm..." It sounded like there was something on his mind.

"What's up?"

He turned to me. "Huh? Oh, never mind me... Just remembering that one time you kicked the teddy bear across the room. I really don't know why I'm surprised that you pull off these stunts anymore."

"I don't know why you're surprised either. Did you forget what just happened with SCP-079?"

"Ugh... Good point."

And with that, the conversation ended.

Silently, but not awkwardly, we made our way through the heavy containment zone, making turns where necessary.

That is, before I saw a certain SCP pop up on the radar.

SCP-008. And then I suddenly remembered.

Steve. Sunshine.

If I go now... If I exit the facility...

I can't save them.

I stopped. Ulgrin noticed and stopped too.

"What's up?"

I didn't answer.

I...

I was so _close_ to leaving! What should I do?

I _wanted_ to save them. But I also wanted to get away. Didn't I save enough people by getting the information?What about _this_ Ulgrin? Do I just leave him? Will I have to commit suicide to save them? What about-

"HEY! Snap out of it!" The world suddenly refocused, and Ulgrin was in front of me. I noticed I was hunched over, so I straightened up.

"Huh...?"

"You were mumbling to yourself, and nothing I was saying was coming through. What's wrong?"

"Oh... It's nothing-" I started to deflect but Ulgrin would have none of it.

"Bullshit! Honestly, this whole phasing out and fainting is getting a bit annoying. Can't you hold yourself together?"

I was taken aback at his harsh words. There was silence for a moment.

"Okay, I did _not_ mean it to come out that wa-" He was interrupted by my snickering.

And, against all odds, I started laughing. From one hand, his words were completely shameless and derogatory towards me and my traumatic experiences, but it was so _Ulgrin_ I couldn't help but laugh.

"Uh... Not exactly what I was looking for but since I already know you're batshit crazy I guess it's a step forward. Now, care to share?"

Well... I guess it couldn't hurt. "It's about Steve and Sunshine."

Ulgrin sounded like he was cringing. "Oh, _thank you_ for opening that can of worms for me again. I really appreciate it, except I don't. Not at all. What got you thinking about them?"

"Remember when I said that our chances of survival were very slim?"

"Yeah... But it's not like that anymore, right?"

"And that's the problem!" I said. "We're going to leave, and I don't know what I'm supposed to do! Their lives rest on _my_ hands! If I leave now, _they_ are the ones who stay dead forever!"

"And that's not your problem!"

That silenced me. Only for a moment, though.

It felt as if the temperature suddenly dropped in the room. I stared at Ulgrin.

"Excuse me?" I said icily.

"J-Just listen. There are _many_ personnel who died in this containment breach, for sure. Yet you can't save all of them-"

"I don't need to save _them_. Just Steve and Sunshine."

"And what then, huh? You might have been stuck in the facility before, but from this point on it's _your_ choice! What if you see another person you decide you want to save? Do you kill yourself to save them too?"

"And what if I do?"

"Then your life has no point anymore! The moment you decide everyone's life is worth more than, you live it too! You're the stubborn type, Walker, but trust me on this one. Live your life too much for other people and you'll _never_ live it for yourself."

My eyes widened as I took a step back, shaking my head. No...

That wasn't... what it was!

Was it? My mind considered the possibility of it.

I realized, with no small amount of horror, that it might not be false after all.

"That..." God, my throat was so dry now. What I'd give for a bit of water. "... sounds reasonable. But still... To just leave them? Steve and Sunshine? Surely one more loop wouldn't be me throwing my life away?"

"Yeah, but when does one loop turn into more if another one of us dies again? That's a pretty steep rabbit hole you'd be falling into." Ulgrin challenged.

I cursed myself for not having an answer.

"I... will think about what you said." I finally conceded.

"You do that. Can we continue now? Unless you have any other sudden and important life dilemmas you'd like to hunch over and mumble about in this literal clusterfuck of a facility, hmm? I can wait. Maybe even provide background music." For added effect, Ulgrin whistled a tune.

I had to admit, the whistling was catchy. It sounded like something you'd hear at an elevator.

"Hah hah. Very funny. Let's go."

And so we started to go to the entrance zone.

I didn't say it and I sure as heck wasn't going to admit it, but Ulgrin's words unnerved me a bit more than I thought they would.

Surely, I wouldn't throw my life out like that...

Would I?

As I was thinking about it in silence whilst also keeping a vigilant eye out for any threats, I opened the door to a four-way gassed catwalk, preparing to step inside.

That is, until the door suddenly snapped shut and I banged my face painfully across the metal surface of the door.

"Son of a _bitch_!" I exclaimed and held my forehead. It was pulsating painfully inside my head.

I turned to Ulgrin. "Hey, what gives!?"

"Hey, don't blame me! I was behind you! From where I was, the door shut down on you. Now, I'm no door expert, but I don't think doors should slam in your face." Ulgrin supplied.

Accepting his reasoning, I opened the door again.

The moment it opened, it shut down again.

"What the hell...?" I opened the door again and, while it was opening, bolted inside the hallway.

"Your turn." I said.

Ulgrin came to the other side.

"Okay, this is beyond normal. Just what is going on?"

"Don't ask me. If I had to guess, it looks like someone intentionally _wants_ us to not move out of the facility- Oh." It suddenly made sense, and the more I thought about it, the more sense it made.

"Oh..."

" 'Oh' what? What's going on?"

"Let me just call Command. You'll hear everything afterwards." Since I was the one who kept calling Command, we decided to let me just keep the headset.

"This is-" The voice started but I cut right to the chase.

"Did you enable the remote door controls?" I asked urgently.

"...Not that I know of. Is something the matter?"

"Doors keep shutting in our face, and the one thing with the motivation and capabilities to do it should _not_ have access to the remote door controls. Which is why I will ask again. Did you enable the door controls or not?"

Ulgrin caught on. "Oh, fuck me... Don't tell me SCP-079 is out to get us?"

"I'll check right away. Stay on the line."

We moved across the hallway, and changes were already apparent. The moment _I_ walked near a gas pipe, it would suddenly pump out more gas. Ulgrin went ignored.

I looked around the room in irritation and- _Ha! A camera!_

It was official. Something was wrong here, and I'd bet my underwear on who the culprit was.

"Walker, you're in danger! You need to get the hell out of there!" I heard the voice speak.

Danger? I quickly went to check my nav and-

Oh.

Oh no.

"Holy shit..." I said, suddenly losing air. "SCP-049-2, SCP-049-2, SCP-049-2, SCP-049-2... How many _are_ there!? And they're coming from-"

A door suddenly opened to the right of us. I heard other doors in the direction open.

Along with _many_ footsteps.

"RUUUUNNN!" I finally screamed. "RUN LIKE THE DEVIL HIMSELF IS CHASING YOU!"

"Walker, what the _hell_!?"

"NO TIME TO EXPLAIN! TO THE ELECTRICAL CENTER!"

And so began the most intense chase of all my time here at the facility.

/*/

It was terrifying.

First, we needed to click the buttons, then sprint our way inside at once. Otherwise, we would be way too slow. I didn't dare to imagine what kind of strain Ulgrin was under with all of that armor and the gun, but adrenaline kept us pushing.

And what _joy_ was it to find out that, once we entered the doors, they were opened up and left open.

If there were any doubts, they were gone now. This had SCP-079 fingerprints- eh, data tracks? - printed all over this mess.

Sometimes, we got lucky and the doors wouldn't close as fast. That was mostly when there weren't any cameras around with multiple doors, but SCP-079 still knew the general location of where we were. It could probably see or sense somehow an electrical impulse when we hit a button to a door, and just follow us from there, I reasoned.

And the horde was catching up. With ourselves being constantly hindered and sometimes even blocked by the doors, it was inevitable that they would catch up.

To our immense luck, it seemed the doors at the intersection had a different system, one that wasn't controlled by the remote door controls. They functioned the same as they did before, with a significant enough delay, and didn't open afterwards.

Once we both noticed this inside the Entrance Zone end, I immediately leaned on the wall for support and Ulgrin straight up fell onto the floor.

"Uggghhhhhhhhhhh..." His groan was long and drawn out, not to mention the sheer exhaustion in it.

"Ulgrin... _Huff_ ... We need to move..." I took large breaths of air.

Slowly, Ulgrin got up from the floor and looked at me.

Or rather, behind me. "Well... I know which direction... we're not going in."

I turned to look behind me through the windows.

NTF squads were clawing in our direction through the window sluggishly, pushing each other and one even tried to climb over another.

"They're just like zombies..." I realized.

"Ugh... zombies. What a terrible way to go. Well, at least they're not conscious in there. Now _that_ would suck. But I guess we'll never know. Let's go."

We started to move. "Actually, I can confirm that they are, in fact, sentient inside, even if barely."

"Oh, _come_ on, Walker! That is the _last_ thing I needed to hear right now! Just- Just don't talk to me anymore. Listen, I gotta tell you something. Try not to cry."

All the doors past the intersection slammed in our faces, but we paid it no mind.

At least we didn't have to run anymore.

"Oh yeah? I'll have you know that I once tripped and fell. I only cried the whole time afterwards."

"Didn't know you were such a pansy, Walker, but I still gotta ask. The _whole_ time?"

"Actually, yes. I died shortly afterwards."

"Ugh... You took the wind right out of my sails. That's just sad. Whatever, I guess I'll finish the joke. You're adopted."

"I... am? Huh, cool."

"No no, you're supposed to be crying."

"Ah. Waaaa." I did a very lazy imitation of crying. To be fair, we were both pretty much running on fumes and this conversation was about as lazy from both sides as it could be.

Eventually, after some more chattering, we descended into silence.

The doors still ended up being a constant annoyance that was using up more of our depleted reserves.

Up until now, though. This door stayed open.

"Huh? Were the controls deactivated?" Ulgrin asked.

"Let's check." I made to step through the door, but retracted at the very last second.

Nothing.

I spied a camera looking in our direction from the hallway we were in. We went a little past the point where SCP-106 chased the NTF soldiers.

After thinking about it, I decided I'd rather not check on the offices, considering I already had all the information from SCP-079. The electrical center was a priority now.

...Or was it?

"Well, can't stand here forever." I said and actually started moving past the door.

I yelped in pain as I slammed into the hastily shut door, _again_ , and held my nose.

"Oh, that's _it_!" I dashed through the door with Ulgrin and turned to the camera, approaching it as I spoke.

"Listen to me, you outdated piece of trashware! If you continue _mocking_ me like this, I swear I will go back to you, and you'll _wish_ I brought the gun with me, because I am going to TEAR YOU APART, PIECE BY PIECE!"

It was through pure luck that I heard the sizzling of electronic components and instinctively backed away, otherwise who knows what kind of damage could have happened to my face.

The camera exploded.

It was a relatively small explosion, but large enough to seriously hurt someone if they were near enough. Luckily, I wasn't.

Unluckily for SCP-079, I was pissed off.

"Oh, the little box wants to play with me, hmmmmm? I'll just have to show it who's not to be messed around with, yes yes..." I muttered to myself, already conjuring up ways to get my revenge.

"Uh, Walker... you're starting to-" I snapped my head in his direction.

"Do you have something you wish to say, Ulgrin?" I stared him down in what I assumed were his eyes, unblinking.

"Eheheh... nevermind."

"Hmph. Chop chop!" I exclaimed loudly, and Ulgrin flinched. "Let's go! We have things to do!"

"Sure..." He then mumbled something that suspiciously sounded like 'lunatic' and 'goddamn psycho'.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

"I thought as much."

/*/

Finding the electrical center was a pain in the butt.

That maybe had something to do with SCP-079 shutting the doors in our faces, but still, it was _not_ fun realizing that you went in the wrong direction and had to backtrack through all those doors again.

Our hard effort payed off in the end, though.

We found our way to the electrical center.

The inside wasn't anything special. Just what looked to be servers, some boxes, a corpse, and an entrance to- _wait just a second._

"Huh... Guess we found our friend." Ulgrin said, and I looked at the nav to confirm it.

That was him, alright. SCP-035.

I approached him from the side.

"Ugh, his face is completely rotten. Disgusti- EEH!" I screeched when a tentacle _bursted_ out of the body with a horrid _squelch_.

I backed away before the tentacle could hit me and _oh boy_ , did it try.

"Can't be sci-fi horror without tentacle monsters. Of course." I said.

"Tentacle monsters in sci-fi? I mean, I'd expect to see them more in some weird-" Ulgrin suddenly stopped.

"Nevermind." He finished.

"In what? In some what?"

"Oh, look! That must be the hub there, in the back! Let's go check it out!" Ulgrin hurried over, making sure not to get in range of the tentacle, but stopped even before he entered it.

I decided to ignore Ulgrin's weird behavior and follow him.

"Walker, I think we might have a problem." He pointed at the glass windows.

The _very_ bloody glass windows.

We silently looked at each other, before rushing inside the hub.

Even before we came inside, the powerful stench immediately washed over us.

There were bodies inside. Namely, those of three NTF squad members.

No words were exchanged as I went closer to the corpses, intent on examining the cause of their demise.

"Here. Keep an eye out." I gave the nav to Ulgrin, before turning back around.

I moved the NTF's head slightly, to get a better view of where all the blood was coming from.

It was from a wound to the head.

A gunshot.

A strong, sinking feeling overtook me, as if I was drowning in air. I gulped.

Taking a look at the two other ones, I saw that one had another bullet hole in the head, while the other had the bullet hole closer to the neck.

With a heavy sigh, I turned to Ulgrin. "All of them were shot from the back in conjunction. The shots connected to the back of the head in all cases."

In the following silence, I heard noise. It sounded like static, but as I neared the source, I realized what it was.

It was a voice.

"-ey!? What is the status of the electrical center? Damn it, no one's responding! We're going to have to assume-"

I picked up the bloody headset from the deceased NTF member and clicked the speaker function.

"This is Walker. I've... found your men in the electrical center. I'm sorry."

The voice on the line stayed silent for a moment, before it cursed. Whoever they were, they were no fool, and they could figure out what it meant when I was speaking from _this_ headset.

"Can you tell me what happened, Walker?" The muffled voice returned again, though it couldn't quite keep the aggravation out of its tone.

"Gunshot wounds to the backs of their heads. Close range, I assume."

"Oh, that's just perfect. Not only are they dead, but they've been killed by someone they trusted. Just fucking _great_."

"Someone they trusted?"

"Obviously. That glass panel behind them is bulletproof, and the soldiers would hear the footsteps. Someone must have walked in and _disposed_ of them after they established themselves as a non-threat."

"Oh, _brother_."

"Listen. You've done enough and you're too valuable to lose. Your primary objective is to flee the facility now. We'll handle everything else."

"Roger that."

After the line cut off, I let the headset drop.

"What do you think about-" I gestured at the corpses. "-this?"

"I think that there's something seriously wrong here."

"How so?"

"If it were Dr. Maynard or Agent Skinner, the NTF would dispose of them. I hardly believe they _haven't_ been informed of them by now, so that must mean it was someone else."

"They could have killed a guard and gotten his outfit, just like one of yours', though."

"That might be it. Still, I don't know..."

"Well, we'll just have to be on the lookout for people whose faces we can't see." I said.

"...Except me."

"Except you, of course. Come on, let's go." I turned off the remote door controls and made to leave.

"Finally, we're getting out of this place!"

"Mm. I can't wait."

"So... you confirm we're leaving? And doing nothing else?" Ulgrin asked.

Huh? "Yeah, of course. What else would we be doing?"

"I don't know... Like destroying SCP-079?"

Ah, that. "Yeah, I'm over it. Ah, that reminds me. Wait just a..." I went to the headsets and turned them on, ignoring the blood and stench. After a bit of fiddling, I turned them on to transmit to a specific channel.

Namely, the one from _my_ headset.

/*/

We roamed more around the facility, trying to find what looked like a way out.

So far I haven't seen any NTF soldiers, and I was beginning to get worried.

There were also signs of SCP-106 on other places than the one we encountered him in in the form of dark, corroded circles in the ground.

That didn't fill me with confidence.

Regardless, I was thinking about everything that happened until this point. Somehow, this felt like the end was almost there.

Finally... After so long... I would leave this place and never return. Have a life of my own.

I also thought about Ulgrin's words regarding Steve and Sunshine.

Sure, I didn't manage to save them, but I did _try_. And, well...

I saved Ulgrin. And if I wanted to move on with my life, I had to learn to let go.

Let go... Yet something was missing.

I wasn't sure what it was, but it was there. That was what my mind focused on, but for the life of me, I couldn't figure out what it was.

Something was missing. I just didn't know what it was.

We found ourselves in the cafeteria of the facility. I could spy a soda machine with what looked like a keyboard of all things on it.

Must be that SCP that John talked about-

Wait, _John_!

"What the hell!?" Ulgrin yelped.

"Eric... ErIC! Eric..." a red, what looked to be knit blob with many eyes was in the cafeteria, rolling around aimlessly and repeating the same words.

Ulgrin took aim.

"What the hell is _that_?"

"Beats me if I know. Let's just... leave it alone for now. The majority of the SCPs would just get pissed off if you shot them anyways, and this one isn't directly at our throats for now."

"For now... Still, it's blocking the-" I heard footsteps. They were faint, but they were there.

"Shh!"

"Did you just _shush-_ "

"I said _shh_!" I whispered urgently, and Ulgrin shut up.

I pointed at the stairs next to us, and we silently made our way down. Once we were securely out of eyesight, I opened the nav.

"SCP-066..." Okay, that was the one above us if the small circle was any indication... And...

"SCP-1499? What's that?" This was bad. Not one, but two completely foreign SCPs just appear out of nowhere?

"Wait, do you hear it?" Ulgrin whispered. "That noise..."

Now that he mentioned it, I _did_ hear something.

Was that... whistling?

We waited anxiously in silence as footsteps and lighthearted whistling became more and more apparent, until the door finally opened.

"You know, I'd really appreciate it if you stopped shutting down the remote door controls." John called out into the room.

My breath stilled. How'd he know we were here? How was _he_ here?

"You're not the only one who has access to technology, Jimmy. I can see the SCP you have on my radar. I wanted that ring."

Well, no point in hiding anymore, though I did spare a thought as to how my navigator didn't pick up my SCPs but his did. SCP-1499 was some SCP he picked up as well, then.

I silently stood up with Ulgrin and moved to stand in front of the stairs. John looked at us from atop them, having a white gas mask on his head but with the face visible underneath.

He looked on us in apathy and disinterest, a stark contrast to his facial expressions before.

But then I already knew the guy was insane. So did Ulgrin, too.

"Hands where I can see them!" Ulgrin ordered, gun trained at John.

"Now, now..." John started. "Where is this aggressive behavior coming from? I'm just here to tell you that-"

"Hands. Up. This is your last warning. Or else your next words will be your last."

After staring at me uncomfortably, John slowly raised his hands. "You are putting me in quite the predicament here. Can we not talk this out like reasonable people? I thought we used to work together?"

"Used to being the keyword here. You should have thought more before siccing SCP-035 on us." I spat out angrily. I gambled on this next one. "And murdering those NTF squad members just to reactivate the remote door controls."

"...Hmmmmm..." He regarded us with an imperious mightier-than-thou expression, as if we were particularly annoying specimens of mosquito he needed to swat away, but wasn't sure how he wanted to do it.

"Tch. How annoying. Have you forgotten everything I've done for you? Is this how you betray me, _Jimmy_? After I helped you? Taught you so much?"

"All of that means crap if you go bipolar on me and practically change your whole personality to want to kill me for not wanting to recontain the Old Man! Speaking of which, I never got around to doing that."

He snorted. "Obviously. You'd be dead by now if you tried to."

My eyes widened. I wasn't expecting that.

His gaze was unimpressed. "You think I'd go through all the trouble of separating from you just to watch you recontain SCP-106?" He chuckled. "Oh no. I was... busy, you might say. Let's just say you would've been back in your bed had you went in that containment chamber."

Ulgrin turned to me. "Can I just shoot him now-"

"WATCH OUT!" I screamed. The crazed man actually _jumped_ from the stairs and bodily slammed into Ulgrin.

Ulgrin collapsed on the floor. As I processed just what happened - and cursed myself for not expecting such a _me_ tactic - I moved to help Ulgrin.

John was already prepared, though, and punched me straight across the face.

Stars spun above my head as I laid on the ground in a daze. After I quickly came to awareness, it was too late.

"My, my, the tables have turned, haven't they?" John said.

He had Ulgrin's gun in his hands, and was pointing it at Ulgrin.

"Okay, goofballs. Move, _slowly_ , to the middle of the room." I cursed, but did as I was told.

Of course this would happen. What a fool I was to believe I could get out of here _that_ easily.

There was always something - or _someone._

"There, that's nice. Now, being the benevolent person I am, I _might_ just let you walk away from this. I just have a few questions for you."

"Go to hell." Ulgrin spat.

Without hesitation, John shot Ulgrin in the chest three times.

"AGH!" / "ULGRIN!"

"Ah ah ah! Stay there. You want to help him, you answer my questions, or else you'll suffer the same fate. But first, let me get a little distance."

My blood boiled in rage as John backed away to the stairs, Ulgrin writhing in pain next to me.

How...

How _dare_ he!?

He wouldn't get away with this. That, I promised to myself.

But odds weren't looking good for neither me nor Ulgrin right now.

 _What to do? How can I save him!?_

"Fuck, it hurts..." Ulgrin groaned next to me.

"Yes, yes, you can just die silently. Jimmy, though... Tell me."

"I've seen you with NTF unit members, talking and gesturing with them. You had a _hand_ in your- Ugh, _that_ hand in your pants. Yet when _I_ approach them, they try to shoot me. Mind explaining this little conundrum to me?"

As he was speaking, SCP-066 sneaked his way to the top of the stairs.

"Silence will just get you killed. I want the complete truth."

"Damn you... It's like this..." SCP-066 - Eric? - plopped down a stair. "I have... a deal with the Foundation. They contacted me."

"And I assume you have evidence of this. Oh, perhaps that headset?" Hesitantly, I nodded. Eric fell on two more. It looked like the SCP fell face first, but it just continued going down.

"And how can I trust you on this?"

Silently, I nodded, trying to suppress my interest at the red blob, which was now almost completely down the stairs, next to John.

"I can call them right now."

"Heh. I'm not an idiot. Keep those hands where I can see 'em, partner. Now, go on-"

"Eric?" John turned to regard the anomaly below him, an eyebrow raised.

"Hey, Jimmy, you ever played football? Heh, of course you have. Well,"

Then he kicked Eric like a football. " _Catch!_ "

"EEERIIIIC!" The red blob flew in my direction.

On pure instinct, I caught the flying creature before it could land square on Ulgrin's chest.

The eyes turned to regard me. I shivered.

"...Eric?"

"...Sorry. No Eric here."

"...WalkER?" My eyes shot wide open. I looked at SCP-066 with horror.

"What did you just say...?"

"Okay, that's enough cuddling! Put the thing down." John said, annoyance clear in his voice.

I put the thing down. After looking at me unnervingly, making me wonder if I did something wrong, it started rolling away.

Back to John.

"That's better. Now, just _why_ would the Foundation contact you in the first place? _How_ would they contact you?" Eric stood next to John, again. Directly next to his feet. "Please, answer chronologi-"

A ridiculously loud blast of noise interrupted him. On instinct, I put my hands on my ears, trying my damnedest to block out the invading sound.

I developed a sudden headache, mild nausea and general disorientation but otherwise, I was okay when the noise ended.

 _What the hell was that!?_

"AAAAAAAHHHHHH! MY EARS! MY EAAARSS!" John wailed, clutching his head with eyes scrunched shut.

"WALkeR..."

I saw an opportunity.

In my nauseous daze, I sprinted towards John. His eyes opened - and widened - just as I was in front of him.

I tackled him to the floor. I managed to wrench the gun from his hand, but suffered a nasty uppercut as a result.

I had the gun, but I was in a much worse position with John on top of me, clawing at my face like a deranged animal.

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! I'M GOING TO _KILL_ YOU!"

He continued thrashing on top of me, trying to hurt me and wrench my gun away. In the midst of our struggle, I pulled the trigger.

The gun was aligned to his head.

I didn't realize it at first. Only when John's head flew to my right, eyes wide as blood flew, and finally collapsed on my shoulder.

I laid there in horror for a short moment.

 _I killed him..._

 _He deserved it._

Before my mind returned to the present.

"ULGRIN!" I wrenched the body from me, headache screaming in protest, and went to Ulgrin, quickly removing the helmet.

Dark brown and spiky, but short hair, with lidded eyes the color of sand greeted me that vaguely looked at my own face as I lifted the head. The mouth was half-open, with blood coming out of it.

"Glrhh..." Ulgrin was dying, and I had to do something about it.

I laid Ulgrin gently on the floor, before standing up.

 _There had to be something I could do! I can't give up on him!_

My eyes jumped to and from all corners of the room, before finding their way to the machine.

SCP-294.

\- _Flashback_ -

 _...But I wasn't going to give up. Not now, when I was so close._

 _And now, it was done. I didn't know what the end result was going to be..._

 _But I knew that it was going to be..._

 _ **Fantastic**_ _..._

 _\- Flashback End_ -

An idea struck me. A crazy idea. A fool's plight. It was absolutely _insane_.

But it was also something that might work.

I ran to the machine, spotting two quarters and a cup on a table. I picked them up quickly, knowing that Ulgrin had little time left.

I popped the quarters in the machine, and put the cup inside.

I took a deep breath, closing my eyes.

' _Breathe in the light, and breathe out the darkness.'_

My eyes snapped open, and I began typing.

S

P

I

R

A

L

G

E

S

T

A

L

T

 _Enter_

A rich, yellow liquid that looked not unlike glowing, fluorescent honey began pouring out of the machine.

Once the machine was done, I took the cup and ran towards Ulgrin.

I knelt and tilted Ulgrin's head.

Without hesitation, I poured the thick substance in his mouth.

Immediately, Ulgrin started coughing and trying to spit the substance out. I cringed, not even wanting to imagine how vile the taste would be.

Regardless, I pressed Ulgrin's mouth shut and pinched his nose, muttering a silent apology.

He struggled some more before finally swallowing the contents.

I allowed him to breathe, but that was getting shallower by the second.

This was likely not how _that_ was meant to be applied, but so neither was the way _I_ did it.

I had to believe in Ulgrin. That was the most I could do.

Then I just sat there, holding Ulgrin. Even as his breath became shallower and shallower, his eyes fluttering shut...

Even as his breathing stopped. After a moment of silently holding him in my hands, I checked his pulse.

There was none.

Ulgrin died.

I let the cup fall to the ground, the contents spreading to the floor.

Silently, I took the gun.

I took a moment to look through tear-stained eyes around the room - _When did I start crying?_ \- letting my eyes finally rest on SCP-066.

"Eric?"

"No... No Eric here." Slowly, I lifted the gun to my head.

 _I'm coming back..._

 _Sunshine._

 _Steve._

 _Ulgrin._

 _And this time..._

 _You're all coming outside with me._

 _I'll make sure of it._

I pulled the trigger.

And then there was darkness.

* * *

 **AN:**

 **:)**

 **Next Chapter: 27th October, 2018**


	12. Chapter 12 - The Beginning of the End

The wait was killing me.

Well, not as _literally_ , but it was still nerve wracking, waiting in the cell for what felt like too long.

I also tried to not think about what happened before I shot myself. It was too many memories, too many emotions.

But I _did_ think about John.

 _That rat! That treacherous bastard!_

Just the thought of him made me furious. It's a damn good thing I was never going to see him again.

Good riddance. The others will never have to know about him.

 _But what about Ulgrin?_

Ah, there comes the anxiety... and just as I was getting distracted.

Would he return? Or was it too late?

Did the Spiral Gestalt even work that way?

At this point, I would have to wait and see.

After settling down on my bed, I let the maelstrom of emotions take their flow. The door would open soon, and I would have my answers.

Perhaps reluctantly, I stood up after hearing noises on the other side of the door. I wasn't sure I was prepared for the possibility that Ulgrin - the Ulgrin _I_ knew - was dead, and a part of me didn't want to find out.

Alas, it was not to be. The door opened, and I fought to relax my expression.

Ulgrin was standing in front of the door. Since I couldn't see his face, I struggled to remember just what he'd say.

"Hey... They..." Ulgrin cleared his throat. "They've got some work for ya. Be a pal and step out of your cell, will ya?"

My eyebrows furrowed even as I was silently stepping out of the cell.

That... both seemed and didn't seem right. I couldn't tell at this stage, though, since I essentially stopped paying attention to him the moment I got out of the cell to think about more relevant things regarding my escape.

"Just follow me... Oh, and by the way, we're authorized to kill any disobedient test subjects, so you better not be trying anything fishy... D-Class scum!" He finished halfheartedly, then started to move.

I almost snorted and broke out laughing at the same time, and I had to work to suppress my facial expression as I walked down the hallway.

Now... that was definitely something Ulgrin didn't say.

So... Does this mean what I think it means? Could Ulgrin truly be-

"Man, these Class-D's, am I right?" Ulgrin started speaking. "They're the worst. Can't stand the sight of them."

Okay, he _definitely_ didn't say anything remotely close to that.

Was... was he genuinely trying to sell the act that he was a normal guard?

"I... guess so..." The insecure guard behind me said.

"Yeah, I can tell you think the same. Like, they go do their crimes like total _idiots_ , get caught and end up here. What morons they are, am I right or am I right, right?"

"R-Right? You must really hate Class D personnel a lot..."

I struggled immensely to keep my face even and not laugh out loud.

 _He was back! It actually worked!_

I wasn't sure if he was trying to make fun of me or just _really_ try to sell the act, though.

"Oh, you guessed that right!" Ulgrin droned on. "People like D Classes are just the worst. Those kinds of people are responsible for global warming. They're like Netflix adaptations of anime. Nobody wanted them and they're just terrible. They're those kinds of people that started World War II. Probably" Ulgrin muttered that last part and I couldn't help it anymore.

I snickered. It was just loud and long enough for the guards to hear, and for Ulgrin to completely stop in his tracks. His body was visibly clenched, and I was suddenly put on guard.

Was something wrong?

He _slowly_ , tantalizingly even, turned around to look at me.

"Did you just _snicker_ , D-9341?" Okay, I wasn't expecting this.

I looked at him with wide open eyes, unsure how to respond.

"WHEN I ASK A QUESTION, I DEMAND AN ANSWER!"

On instinct, I blurted out the first thing that came to my mind. "Yes, sir! I'm sorry, sir!"

There was a moment of silence.

Just _barely_ , I managed to pick up the slight shaking of Ulgrin's shoulders and the silent, almost nonexistent, snickering.

 _Oh, that bastard._

I wasn't angry, though. Far from it, in fact. This just served to cement what I already knew.

Against all odds, it worked. By what means, I don't know nor would I question it.

But it worked.

Ulgrin was back.

"That's what I thought. Let's go." Ulgrin said and turned around.

"Y-You don't ease up on them, do you...?" The guard said, or asked.

"No way. Nuh-uh. Give them enough freedom and they start thinking they own the place. Eventually, they even want to escape the damn place. Well, not on my watch!"

"I-If you say so... F-Faster, prisoner! No lagging around!"

Ulgrin, the bastard, snickered loudly as I hurried up. "That's the spirit. Well, we're here. Don't wait up for me."

"Don't wai- B-But weren't our orders to-to..."

Ulgrin tapped his headset, as if that explained everything. "Got new orders. It's a little thing called multitasking, son. You go do you and I'll go do me. See ya later."

"Yeaaah... See you." And thus we entered the room, which soon closed.

I focused and instantly turned to the camera. Timing was essential.

"Tango. Alpha. Charlie. Hotel. Yankee. Oscar. November. Scenario 75-32-75-26."

I turned to look at Ulgrin, who just looked onto me and the camera.

I winked with my right eye, the one not covered by the camera.

Instantly, the weapon was trained on me. Ulgrin had caught on.

"Hey, wait just a second. What is the meaning of this!?" Ulgrin said threateningly. It was a pretty good act.

"Your name is Agent Ulgrin, and your designated ID as in the facility's database is G-2033. Those of your direct superior is B-501."

"W-What the hell!? You better start explaining yourself right now!" Ulgrin said and actually sounded surprised.

Well, I guess I've never said just _what_ was told to me in order to ascertain that I wasn't lying...

The Foundation needed a way across loops to know I was an actual time traveler, after all.

"There is going to be a containment breach in the middle of the experiment with SCP-173, and I know who caused it."

"And _how_ do you exactly know this?"

"I am a time traveler who returns to the start of the day every time I die. I have died many times in the containment breach that happened."

"...Do you honestly expect me to believe this?"

"Stay here and find out. If nothing happens after the experiment, you're free to kill me. But _when_ the containment breach starts, I'll be your only way out."

To me, the conversation sounded fake. It was a tad too straightforward, and wasn't something that would convince Ulgrin under normal circumstances.

But I didn't need to convince him.

I needed to convince the Foundation. And for all they know, we don't know each other, and I intended to keep it that way.

With this being said, I started to make my way inside the chamber.

"My superiors are going to kill me..."

In a quick flash of inspiration, I turned slightly to Ulgrin. "No, they won't... I'm working on their orders, after all."

And thus I entered the containment chamber.

As I silently walked over to stand next to the two D-Classes, it struck me that this might be the last or the second to last time I was seeing this place.

Not just the whole sequence of events with Billy, but rather the whole facility.

Instead of reminding me that I was almost out, it got me to think about my time here.

The thought alone of this place made me feel like an old man who has wasted his life away.

So tired...

With my mind numbly stuck in the past, I idly followed along with the blaring of the speakers, entering the containment chamber.

"No man on this earth should ever hold such a weary expression, my friend. Blinking. If we were in a bar I'd buy you a drink, but I guess that's not an option now, eh?" The man next to me laughed insecurely, as if he were trying to cheer me up.

I smiled for his sake. "Thanks, but I don't exactly need the emotional support right now."

"That's a weird way of putting it, but it's fine. There are little of those who can stand up to Bill- SCP-173 and not be scared. It's okay, man. You're not alone. Blinking." The other man echoed the last word.

Wait... they thought I was scared of Billy?

The thought made me chuckle, but the mere act of it caused my mind to snap back to the present.

I...

I've changed, haven't I?

The first time I was in front of the statue, I was scared out of my mind. I was nearly locked in place from my fear.

Now, I was... I was still scared of it, no amount of experience could change that, but I was more... wary of it. Never taking my eyes off it, and blinking only after I've heard the other ones blinking, which I did with extreme reluctance.

I didn't want to be controlled by this fear, once I went out.

Spurred on by this track of thought, I took a tentative step forward.

Then another. Then one more.

"Hey, what are you... ?" The voice behind me stopped when I was completely in front of the statue.

SCP-173.

"Hello there." I whispered, just loud enough for it to hear. "You don't remember, but you've killed me many times. Snapped my neck. You even killed a friend of mine. I know it must sound crazy, but it's true. I'm a time traveler, after all."

"D-9341, step away from SCP-173!" I heard the voice crack over the speaker. I ignored it.

"I'm so furious with you, you can't even believe it." I said, feeling the familiar rage spur up from inside, before hesitantly placing my hand onto its forehead.

"But... I've decided to let go. I'm leaving this place soon, and I just wanted to say... I forgive you, but I won't miss you. I have my own purpose in life I must achieve. Oh, and by the way..."

I grinned, a broken man to a hateful sculpture. "Catch me if you can."

 _Crunch._

An alien, gruff and goblin like voice echoed in my head, and my eyes widened.

"Crunch?" I repeated.

I was rewarded with an intense feeling of being observed and measured up before I removed my hand - the feeling immediately fading away - and backed away in renewed fear.

"Please maintain direct eye-" My eyes widened at the voice.

This was seconds before the blackout.

I ran as fast as I could, not even bothering to look at Billy now. I reached the corner _just_ as the lights turned off, and I berated myself for my stupidity.

What in the fresh hell was I thinking!? Approaching it, talking to it? All for some kind of closure?

Closure for my relationship with a murderous neck snapping statue!?

 _It's official. I've gone crazy._

And that's not even mentioning the voice in my head. Did I imagine that too?

What does it even mean? Crunch?

The door behind me opened, so I pushed the ever piling mountain of questions in the back of my head, and turned around, looking through the door.

Ulgrin was pacing frantically, his weapon in his right hand and pointed to the ground, as he held his head with the other hand and muttered incomprehensibly to himself.

I slowly entered the room, catching snippets of his mumbling.

"-e real. There is just no other optio- WALKER!"

All too fast, Ulgrin approached me. Was he _that_ happy? That seemed a bit uncharacteristic of hi-

"WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE TO ME!? ANSWER ME!"

Any answer from me disappeared the moment Ulgrin started shaking me with both hands, one of which had the weapon, my head rocking back and forth before I managed to escape his grasp.

I felt mild nausea. "Ugh... I can feel a headache coming..."

"Oh, _you_ feel a headache coming!? Well, that's just fan- _fucking-_ tastic, isn't it!? Oh, by the way, WHAT THE HELL!? Is this the afterlife? Hell, why does the afterlife look like this? Does this mean there is no Heaven or He-"

"You need to calm down, Ulgrin." I put my hands up in a nonthreatening gesture.

"I need to calm down? _You_ need to tell me what's going on! Nothing makes any sense!"

Well... "Isn't it obvious? What do you _think_ happened?"

"What do I think? Well, I first thought it was some really weird dream, but then I realized it wasn't a dream and I was here and then I started panicking-" Ulgrin froze. "Oh."

I was almost afraid to ask. I did _not_ know how to deal with this. "Oh?"

"I died." Ulgrin whispered. "I remember John... He took my gun. Then he shot me, and then I remember the taste of something really nasty..." Ulgrin shook his head, as if to dispel the memory. "Tasted like fish guts, rotten eggs and mud all mixed up in a milkshake."

"Ah... Guess it really isn't optimal for drinking... I had a slightly different experience."

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say. "Wait... You were the one who gave me that!? You better have a damn good reason for that, or else I'm going to _rip_ your spine-"

I bitch slapped Ulgrin. The resounding thump was the only thing that could be heard in the room.

As if I hadn't just slapped the guy, I started talking. "Ulgrin, that... liquid," If one could call it that. ", is the one that also caused me to start looping. It's called the Spiral Gestalt." I let that sink in for a second. "Now, you can ask your questions, but you can do so without panicking like a buffoon, okay?"

Silence, except for Ulgrin's heavy breathing. We stood like this for an awkward moment, and I wanted to say something else, but I didn't know what.

Ulgrin's breathing evened out, and then he exhaled.

When he spoke, it was in a calmer tone. "I... kinda assumed that. That I returned back, I mean. I just... I just couldn't wrap my head around it, you know?"

He took another deep breath, then released it. "I kinda figured you did something to make me return here... to start looping, like you. I didn't want to believe it, though. Even as I played along in front of the camera, I was still having difficulties believing it. And I was panicking... Sorry about that, I guess. Can't believe you actually slapped me, though. Guess I needed the shock to my system."

"Don't worry about it. Fight fire with fire and all that."

Ulgrin snorted. "If it works, it works. Soooo..." Ulgrin drawled. "I'm like you now?"

"Pretty much. Welcome to the club. Feel stressed out yet?"

"Ugh, just this morning has been about enough of stress to fill a whole week, and that's not even mentioning yesterday. Is it normally like this?"

"Yeah, that sounds about right. Don't worry, it only gets worse from here." Ulgrin groaned. "Now, if I'm recalling correctly, the first place we should go to is-" I froze.

 _Oh, come on!_

"Is...?" Ulgrin questioned.

"The storage room." I whispered. "Where Steve is."

I shared a quick look with Ulgrin.

"RUN!" / "OH, SON OF A BITCH!"

Before we both started sprinting across the facility, hoping we would make it in time.

/*/

"Thank you... You saved us." The scientist, Marshall if I recall correctly, said.

"I'm mighty grateful as well." Steve added.

"Your gratitude... is... appreciated." I spoke for both me and Ulgrin, both horribly out of breath.

Ulgrin was taking a rest on the floor. "Yeah... We... still... got it..." He exhaled roughly and gave up on talking entirely.

"That we do... How do _you_... have less stamina than me?" I asked Ulgrin.

"I have heavy armor on... Smartass. You try sprinting... with this on... and _not_ get tired."

"Fair point." After a bit of deliberation, I reluctantly went to stand next to the door.

Can't be too sure with Billy.

"Well, as grateful as I am for you rescuing us-" The scientist started, but was collectively interrupted.

"Nope." / "You can just stop right there."

"Excuse me?" Marshall said, bewildered.

Ulgrin pointed at me. "He's the boss. Not you. Don't even bother trying."

He looked at me and Ulgrin, eyes wide. "How did you..."

Ulgrin and I shared a look, then turned to Marshall.

"Time travel." / "Time travel."

We fist pumped.

 _Damn, we're good._

The door opened. Already having my hand on the button, I closed it.

"Well, this is as good of a signal as any. We're going."

"Now wait just a seco-"

"Psst!"

"Did you just-"

"PSST!" Ulgrin shushed Marshall again. "We can find time to talk later, but we're on a bit of a tight schedule here. We have another one of us to save."

Well... first impressions aside, it _was_ true, we needed to get moving.

There were many things left to do.

/*/

After saving Sunshine, we went to SCP-914.

All were suspicious at first, but the easy banter and focused air between Ulgrin and myself made them more relaxed.

Heck, even Marshall was being a part of the group now!

To be fair, understanding the man was an effort in insanity, but the results were there and he _was_ being friendly.

As I was putting all of the various items found (such as my gas mask) in SCP-914, Ulgrin and I explained that I was actually a Foundation member undercover - which was only technically true - and that I was expecting a call from them very soon.

There was some tension between Sunshine and Marshall, though. They stood as far away from each other as possible, and never interacted directly after Sunshine freaked out about his presence.

"And what kind of mission are you on, Walker? Or is that too confidential?" Marshall said, though there was no suspicion on his part.

"That's far too confidential. Sorry."

"Must be that time travel you were talking about, eh?" Steve joked.

I grinned. "Yeah. That's it. You got us. Did you hear that, Ulgrin? They found us out."

I heard the clink of the machine, and went to pick up the newest additions to our roster.

"Oh, nooo." Ulgrin said dryly. "I weep bitter tears of sadness. Whatever shall we do now- Hmm?"

As he finished speaking, he suddenly straightened up.

Then he started taking off his headset.

"Knock'em out."

"Oh, if I could..." I said, and left for the other side of the room.

I heard Ulgrin roping them in a conversation, so I left that over to him.

"Hello? Am I speaking to Agent Ulgrin?"

"No, you're speaking to me. Long time no hear, huh?"

There was silence on the other end.

"...Do you know who I am?"

"To be completely honest, no. But I know that _you_ know who I am. By name and everything. But that's besides the point," My voice grew serious. "I know they're listening in. Patch me through to them. I need to... discuss some things with them."

The line cut off after that, but I wasn't perturbed. I waited patiently until the line picked up again.

A different, muffled voice responded. "D-9341. I'd say it's a pleasure but it seems there is always a logistical disaster whenever your name is mentioned on a report."

I ignored the quip. "Believe it or not, I'm here to make your lives easier. Trust me, it's worth the paperwork you'll be compiling on me. Don't forget that it was my goal to contact you."

Another muffled voice came through. "With the protocol for tachyon related time events dealing with future disasters, no less. That is a _very_ bold move for one who shouldn't even be aware of our existence, much less of a protocol a handful of people on the Earth know."

"Well, you're the first ones to contact me _and_ the ones who gave me the protocol in the first place. I assume you have the video evidence of my conversation with Agent Ulgrin. You should be able to connect the dots."

The voices audibly discussed over their microphones, before the voice I talked to first answered. "So your claim is that we contacted you in your previous lives and subsequently _hired_ you."

"Yes. You gave me the task of discovering the cause of the containment breach in exchange for a full pardon and reinstatement in my previous position. I have achieved this goal in my last loop, but I got killed," By myself, I didn't add. ", in an attempt to escape the facility. You made my job much easier and told the NTF's to cooperate and for Agent Ulgrin to help me. Thank you for that."

The voices exploded into hushed conversations, before the connection was promptly muted. I felt insecure. What if they suddenly revoked the deal? What if I didn't somehow impress them enough?

What if they thought I was lying?

"Ehm..." The first voice returned. "After discussing the subject, we have found your words and actions believable. Do not fret, we are going to honor this arrangement and return you to your position, provided you give us the information about the containment breach. Now, if you don't mind filling us in?"

My shoulders sagged in relief. "Okay, so here's how the story goes..."

/* _Somewhere else..._ */

 _?_

"Three hundred and sixty... huff... three hundred and sixty-one..."

Blood was spreading through the ceiling and the floor, all under the apathetic eyes of a guard who did nothing.

"Three hundred and sixty-two..."

Ah, and there was the floating scientist, swirling around in a circle. The guard was gone, though.

"Three hundred and sixty-three..."

Now, the scientist was merely dead on the floor, in a pool of his own blood. There was no longer any blood dripping from the ceiling.

That was a good sign. The changes were subsiding, which meant I was getting close.

I grinned.

/* _Back in the present_ */

"And that's basically the whole story."

"I see. This is a most impressive feat you have achieved indeed. Of course, we will need to prove all of your claims but we err on the side of faith for now."

"Really? That seems very... generous of you." I paused. "What's the catch?"

"The catch? Well, I, for one, don't think even _you_ would have the balls to go out and make such an effort to reach out to us and then feed us misinformation. We would find out sooner or later, and you would have no place to hide. That is the extent of it."

"O-Oh..." Okay, that freaked me out more than I cared to admit. They were true, after all. "Well, if that's every- AAH!"

There was a black hand underneath my legs.

I jumped away in panic, and I realized with horror what would have happened had I not looked down in that exact moment.

The Old Man would have corroded my balls.

"AAAH!" I pulled out the freshly baked level three keycard - I hadn't been able to get a better one - and promptly ran like the devil itself was on my tail, the others quickly following.

/*/

Everyone was taking a quick break in the Surveillance Room, catching their breath.

"That was so scary..." Sunshine complained, shivering all over. Ulgrin was trying to comfort her with an almost unnatural fervor, always sticking next to her and making sure she felt safe.

"Don't worry, Sunshine. I'll make sure nothing happens to you." Ulgrin said, and I felt a pang of pity for him. It couldn't have been easy for him to be near her when he essentially killed her.

Perhaps this was his way of paying it back in a way?

"It _was_ real scary back there... good thing we have our two saviors right here!" Steve said to me and Ulgrin.

"I couldn't agree any further. Hell, even if you were an actual Class D, Walker, I'd still listen to you! Can't argue with results, heh." Marshall chuckled, and I resisted the massive urge to roll my eyes. I heard Ulgrin scoffing silently, masking it as a cough.

"Hmm. We're not out yet, though, not even close. We're approaching the most dangerous part of the facility - the Heavy Containment Zone."

With that said, I lifted the lockdown on the Light Containment Zone.

Just around the same time, the video feed from the hallway beneath showed the Plague Doctor entering.

My shoulders sagged. "Come on..."

Everyone turned to look at me, then at the screen.

"What is that!?"

"Eeeehh..."

"Walker!?"

"Walker, you better think of something!"

I turned to look at everyone, who were looking at _me_.

"Wait, why me!?"

"This is kinda your thing. Think of something, fast!" Ulgrin said, and I was forced to think of a way this didn't result in a _very_ unfortunate killing spree.

"Hide! Below, in the corners, just don't let it see you!" I lowered my voice to a whisper, "And be very quiet! It has very acute hearing!"

Everyone scrambled to hide. Ulgrin took to the right corner with Sunshine - Which was a smart move by him - Marshall curled up sideways in a fetal position under the central panel, and Steve crouched on the left corner.

My eye twitched. There was no place left for me.

Of course.

I speedily went outside the room to the right and hid behind one of the machines that so conveniently broke line of sight, if one was careful.

If I were any slower, the Plague Doctor would have surely heard me, as he was walking up the stairs now.

I saw him walk in the room briefly, and my muscles clenched in anticipation.

He didn't see me, but I also couldn't see him.

It stayed this way for a small, silent gut-wrenching moment-

 _Achoo!_

Before it was broken by a light sneeze. It sounded like a cute puppy sneezing _very_ lightly.

"I can hear you..." The muffled, ethereal voice spoke ominously.

I mentally facepalmed, feeling extremely exasperated.

 _Goddammit, Sunshine!_

At this rate, everyone's going to get discovered! I need to-

The Plague Doctor was approaching. I needed to do something, and I needed to do it _fast_.

"Don't hurt me!" I said loudly, just as the Plague Doctor was standing in front of the door.

And, coincidentally, in front of me.

His head slowly turned to regard me, and I felt chills creep up my spine.

Not allowing it to speak, I took the initiative. "Y-You know what!? I'M NOT SCARED OF YOU!" I continued raising my voice as much as I could.

If he only heard me, he couldn't hear the others.

I just needed to improvise and drag his attention away from here, while also telling the others where I went.

And I had no idea how to do that.

"I sense the-"

"Out of a scale of one to a thousand!" I interrupted, slightly surprised he didn't just get bored and start chasing me. "You are a forty nine! I however, am a nine hundred and fourTEEEEEEEN!" He must have gotten fed up with my nonsense, because he started walking towards me.

I screamed as I ran down the stairs, the Plague Doctor hot on my trail.

/*/

 _Agent Ulgrin_

"I however, am a nine hundred and fourTEEEEEE-" The voice faded away as Walker ran away, along with the Plague Doctor if the faint footsteps were anything to go on by.

"For fuck's sake, Walker..." I murmured quietly before opting to stand up and confirm the situation.

Yup. No Plague Doctors here.

"I'm sorry..." Sunshine squeaked out, and I felt my blood freeze.

 _Suddenly, I was looking at her heartbroken, red face filled with tears before I pulled the trigger-_

I shook my head to dispel the vision. No. Not here, not now.

"It's okay, Sunshine." I said softly, both for her and my benefit. "It's going to be okay." I raised my voice for the benefit of Marshall and Steve. "It's safe for now. You guys can get up."

"Safe for us, but not for Walker." Marshall said when he got up. "He sacrificed himself for us. We should honor that-"

"It's not like that, Marshall," I said, silencing the man. "Walker did this because he knows what he's doing. He's tougher than a cockroach, trust me on that. You wouldn't believe the shit he pulls off and manages to get away with. This is a cakewalk for him."

"I'll trust you on that." Steve said. "But how in the fresh hell are we supposed to meet up with him again? He could be anywhere!"

"Not to mention that he has the keycard we need to get out of the facility!" Marshall said.

"It's SCP-914... That's why he was shouting. He was trying to distract it and simultaneously tell us where to meet up... That whole scale thing." Sunshine said in a quiet but firm tone, and everyone was brought to silence.

Red slowly crept up on her cheeks and she looked flustered. "W-Why are you looking at me!?" I was reminded of a similar thing happening before.

"She's right." I finally said, turning to the others. "We should start going in that direction. Walker is almost definitely going to be there. And..." I pulled out a level two keycard. "We don't exactly need him for entering the room."

Slack jaws and wide eyes looked at me, and I secretly enjoyed it.

"Where did you get _that_ from?" Steve questioned.

Is this how Walker feels when he pulls off some impossible shit like it's nothing? Because, damn, it feels good!

"By pure awesomeness, if I might say. Now, let's go." I started walking, confident that the others would follow me. "We have something to pick up that is going to make our time leaving the facility a breeze, and it just so happens to be near SCP-914."

"And what might that be?" Marshall asked.

"Just a navigator and some batteries."

"And how exactly is a navigator going to be of any use to us?"

I grinned. "Oh, you'll see."

/*/

After we picked up the navigator and batteries, it was only a short trip to SCP-914 that was necessary.

"We're almost there." I said for their benefit.

"And you're _sure_ he is going to be there?" Marshall, ever the skeptic, prodded again.

"Pretty sure, yeah. And yes, he's going to be just fine." Honestly, Marshall was more than a little annoying. Just why did Walker even put up with him?

We were passing through the storage room when the door behind us opened.

"Speak of the devil and he shall appear."

"There?" I said, turning around. "I told you he'd be-" My eyes widened.

"Uh... I can't be the only one seeing this, right?" Steve said.

A teddy bear was sat on Walker's shoulder.

It waved to us.

"I'm getting too old for this. Just what in tarnation's going on?"

"It's. So. _Cute!_ " Sunshine had glowing stars in her eyes.

 _She's the one who looks cute when she's like that._

I stilled and, in the same moment, decided to ignore that particular thought to focus on the present.

That looked like the bear Walker was adamant on killing.

"Uh, Walker... mind explaining this?" I asked.

Walker turned to me with eyes full of childish glee. Hidden beneath that, though, was what I learned to be the trademark glint of Walker when everything was going according to plan. It was an ecstatic, manic look, one that was perhaps befitting of a mad scientist - Which Walker actually was, now that I thought about it.

"I'm not going to like this, am I...?"

Walker grinned in response.

* * *

 **AN:**

 **Where** _ **did**_ **Ulgrin get the level two keycard from?**

 **Anyways, we learn that Walker's gambit worked and that Ulgrin is looping, we go through the 'beginning phase' of the containment breach, we get a bit of Ulgrin's pov and we suddenly have Teddy back in the game. Marshall is actually not being a shitty person!**

 **Just what is going on anymore?**

 **On the more serious side, though, this was more of a transitory chapter. We've reached the point where Walker and Ulgrin can escape the facility with their knowledge, but that doesn't mean it can happen right away. Of course, there is also the inherent unpredictability of the situation to consider, such as Walker randomly appearing with SCP-1048. One might never know what will happen.**

 **Woo. Scary.**

 **Well, that's about it for the chapter, but I also want to bring something else to your attention. Something that you might enjoy indeed.**

 **\- - - Story recommendation - - -**

 **The Color of the Cure**

 **By AuzeriGirl**

 **Whilst a relatively new story on the SCP fandom, it is still one, in my opinion, that stands out in particular. The descriptive and rich depictions were what first attracted me to this story. The passion and effort from the author to improve both themselves and the story were what made me stay.**

 **Read it and see if it's something you might enjoy. I know I will.**

* * *

 **Well, gotta run. Like, literally. I literally have a few minutes left to upload this.**

 **Next Chapter: 3rd November, 2018**


	13. Chapter 13 - The End

**AN: There's a small change in the writing style from now on. Namely, I won't be explicitly writing whose perspective I'm writing from.**

 **Otherwise, enjoy the show.**

* * *

I pinched my arm slightly. Nope, still awake.

Didn't mean it made any more sense than a wild, feverish dream, the likes of which starved and dehydrated travelers had when seeing things in the desert. Fata Morgana, if memory served right.

First, there was the containment breach. Then me and Marshall were saved by a guard and a researcher going undercover as a Class D of all things, and we basically end up following their lead.

Okay, crazy, but still manageable through the panic. I was pretty suspicious of the both of them, and that's nothing to say of Marshall! The poor lad looked like what he imagined one of them conspiracy theorists looked like, watching their every move and thinking of every possible way they were lying and trying to find the perfect moment to catch them out on it.

Which never took hold, I guess. I can imagine why, though.

The two were just a tad too familiar with one another, bantering and insulting each other in that special way only friends could do, and they _were_ friends. In a way.

It was complicated, I decided. On one part, they obviously trusted and knew each other, but...

Their friendship didn't seem like one born of time and getting used to each other, but rather like two people who were promptly thrown together and told to socialize, while also being forced to work together in deadly situations, and all that _before_ the containment breach.

Which fit with their explanation wonderfully, if he said so himself. Ulgrin was a guard for Walker, an apparently important researcher?

It just made sense. But then again...

They were used to each other, but they weren't used _to_ each other.

There was implicit trust and an inexplicable bond, but it was towards someone you only vaguely knew, and were constantly surprised with.

This and more flew through my head as I considered Ulgrin and Walker in the present moment. Namely, Walker with an animate teddy bear on his shoulder.

"Don't worry about him. He's a _friend_." The way Walker said that last word left me feeling uneasy. There was something going on here.

Well, that wasn't any of my business. I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth and challenge basically the two people who had extensive knowledge of the facility _and_ were currently helping us get out.

 _And one of them has a gun._

Yes, that was an important factor too.

"Well!" Walker clapped his hands enthusiastically. "Let's get going to SCP-914!" And with that, he marched on forward.

"So, uh... Doesn't this seem a lil' suspicious to you?" I whispered to Marshall as we walked. Ulgrin opted to go to Walker with Sunshine.

"You're right. Something's fishy here. Even a blind man can see that Walker's planning something, and I'm not liking it."

"Maybe he'll tell us in time?" I offered.

"Time will tell, Steve. Time will tell. For now, we should carefully observe and find out the information for ourselves, because they certainly won't tell u-"

"Whaaat? That explanation is totally lackluster, Walker! Just tell us what's going on with the bear already!" Sunshine complained loudly.

My jaw went slack.

Marshall snorted. "Something like that will never work-"

"Don't worry Sunshine. You'll get all the details you desire when we're in SCP-914, and in relative safety. For now, though, consider it a friend."

"I'm holding you to that, you hear me?"

"Loud and clear. Well, we're here anyways. Let's go in." Walker opened the containment chamber door as I struggled to wrap my head around it. It was that easy, huh?

I looked at Marshall, who looked similarly flabbergasted.

"Sometimes, things are simpler than they appear to be, heh?" I offered.

"Perhaps." Marshall offered nonchalantly, looking away. The red on his cheeks didn't help in hiding his embarrassment, though.

I ignored it out of politeness, and focused on Walker, or more specifically, the bear.

Honestly, I didn't know what to make of it. It seemed friendly enough and Walker trusted it, so I guess it wasn't all that-

"Al-righty!" Walker clapped his hands again, and I saw Ulgrin flinch slightly at the noise. So this was new for him too.

Good to know he wasn't the only one lost.

"Now, I'm sure you're all very much wondering about our new companion here." Walker started, moving to the machine and setting it to 'Fine'.

"You got that right." Ulgrin mumbled.

"Well, I happened to find it on a short jog through the Heavy Containment Zone. It can understand us, and it's been pretty helpful so far." Walker pulled out a level one keycard.

"Could you put this in the machine for me? Far in the back or else it won't work." Walker pointed at the small chamber of SCP-914, but that wasn't what caught my attention.

Far in the back? That didn't make any sense! Walker always put the thingies just _in_ the machine, not specifically to the back.

True to Walker's words, though, the bear picked up the keycard and went to do as instructed. I watched in fascination as the bear waddled over inside the machine, going out of sight to the corner of the machine before the door closed-

Wait...

 _Why did the door close!?_

Every single one of us had our jaws dropped - well, except maybe Ulgrin - and was looking at Walker, who innocently looked away as we heard the sounds of the machine working.

Ulgrin approached Walker and looked at the part where the settings were adjusted.

Then Ulgrin facepalmed. "Rough," He read off the label. "Of course. You just _had_ to do it. Was that the plan all along?"

Walker smiled innocently, but the vicious, victorious glint in his eyes was anything but innocent. "Whatever do you mean, dear Ulgrin?

"Bwuh?"

"Okay, fellers, FREEZE!" I finally said, and everyone looked at me. I panicked at the attention, but I fought through it. I just couldn't take it anymore! "You've been keeping us in the dark for long enough, and now this? Just what in tarnation's going on here!?"

"The bear you just saw was a manipulating waste of cotton that stole body parts. It wanted to manipulate us into helping it escape the facility, after which it would probably either escape or take something out of our bodies."

"Manipulating teddy bears that steal organs, got it... Wait, _what!?_ "

"I'm going to regret asking, but... what happens to the organs?" Sunshine asked timidly, eyes wide.

"They get turned into animate bears that are extremely violent. One such bear is currently in the facility. It's got the power to make you grow ears all over your body and suffocate you through them. Naturally, it's made of-"

"Okay, that's enough!" Ulgrin said. "You okay, Sunshine?"

"Y-Yeah... Just need a break, is all." Now that I looked at her, she looked pale.

"Ah." Walker looked apologetic. "Sorry, I got carried away."

"Yeah, well, make sure it doesn't happen again." Ulgrin said, and Walker gazed at him silently - Was that pity in his eyes? - before wordlessly turning around and going in the machine, all the while Ulgrin helped Sunshine get her bearings.

That was yet another mystery to be added to the list. Ulgrin's unusual insistence on sticking up for Sunshine, even if it went against Walker.

I decided not to think about it. Instead I focused on the individual strings of white, yellow and brown cotton that were haphazardly thrown out and about outside SCP-914. A pair of plastic eyes followed afterwards, along with some plastic.

There was an impressive amount of cotton in front of the machine at the end of it.

Walker walked outside, kicked the cotton for good measure, and went to Ulgrin.

"May I have your keycard, kind sir?"

"Sure thing. Here, take the nav as well."

And with that, he threw both his and Ulgrin's keycard in the machine, but put the machine inside gently, before turning to us.

"Okay, let's talk." Walker's face turned deathly serious, and I instinctively straightened up. "After we go outside of the containment chamber, things are going to become rough. Groups like these are hard to manage if everyone acts out on their own. Which is why I'm going to have to ask each and every one of you to do _exactly_ as I say, or in my absence, as Ulgrin says."

"And _why_ is it necessary we follow you two? Is none of us better suited for leading this-"

"No!" To my surprise, it was Ulgrin that barked out at Marshall, effectively shutting him up. "You didn't let him finish. This isn't about leadership or anything of the sort. It's the simple fact that you will die if you try and do this yourself. Trust us, we've been through this before."

That shut us all up.

"Been through this before...?" I whispered, looking at the both of them.

Walker was looking at Ulgrin with wide eyes. Nobody spoke for a moment.

"Yes," Walker started, eyes darting frantically between him and us. "We... we've had to... go through a containment breach before." Walker stopped to take a deep breath.

Almost unnervingly calmer, he continued. "We don't like to talk about it. And... well, I've been through a few more containment breaches of this magnitude."

Say what? _More_ situations like this?

My head felt dizzy at the revelation. I turned to look at Ulgrin, who stayed silent.

 _This couldn't be true, right?_

He nodded.

"That's... ridiculous." Sunshine said accusingly, as if she didn't want to believe it. "You'd be dead by now if that's the case. No one... no one is that lucky!"

"I wish you were right..." Walker whispered. For a second, Walker looked impossibly old - A man that was forced through too much horrors, too much tragedy and just wanting to rest, away from it all.

It made my heart clench uncomfortably.

Walker shook his head, and the old man was gone, replaced with a determined expression. "That's why you have to listen to me. I know better than anyone just how easy it is for people to die by deciding to go on their own, or not keeping their cool. So far, my experience boils down to a few simple points: Stay with someone who knows what they're doing and you'll... most likely survive, provided you don't daze the whole group with your screaming or do something equally terrible." My brows furrowed. That was oddly specific. "If you don't know what you're doing, you will die, without fail."

"What about you, then? You're obviously alive."

"Extreme luck, Marshall. Or something."

"Walker, good news." Ulgrin held up a blue keycard between his index and middle finger, holding the navigator with the other hand.

"What a pleasant surprise. I knew 914 was my favorite number for a reason. Well, there might be other reasons for it..." Walker smiled, as if he was enjoying an inner joke no one understood. "Whatever it may be, we've been here for too long. May I have the nav?"

"Here. I already put the battery inside."

"...Safe for now." Walker turned to us. "We're going out. Keep what I said in mind. It might just be the difference between life and death for you."

/*/

"So you've been in a containment breach before?" It was just so crazy to believe!

"Yeah. Not as much as him, though." Ulgrin gruffly said.

"Heads up! We're entering the heavy containment zone. Keep sharp!"

Oh God, this was happening. This was actually happening.

Okay, Sunshine, calm down. You can do this, you can do this... Just a few monsters, what could they possibly do to me? Except kill me. And torture me, _removing each finger one by one with a dull knife before pulling out my teeth and my hear before they disembowel me-_

"-you listening?"

"Ah, what?" Who was that?

Ulgrin. "I said, are you listening? This is no time to doze off."

"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention..." Useless! You can't even pay attention and now he's going to leave you and you'll be alone and then they'll throw you out of the group-

"It's okay... Hey, what did you do in the facility before the containment breach?" Ulgrin asked quickly, most likely sensing my anxiousness.

But that was fine. Conversation kept me focused, away from the voices. I appreciated the distraction.

"I'm part of the research unit responsible for investigating SCP-714's anomalous properties." I recited, much the same way I did when people asked me the same question.

"And? How did that work out for you? Disregarding the containment breach, at the very least-"

"Everyone, focus. We have a few SCPs on our tail, and we might need to run. For now, though, just hurry up after me. And be silent." He turned to look at me specifically, and my cheeks burned with embarrassment.

Well, what Walker didn't know, Walker didn't care about, and I didn't see any reason to tell him the alternative to me sneezing would be me throwing up, then fainting due to the overwhelming pressure in my head and throat.

 _There you go, Sunshine! You're being a good person! Kinda..._

Walker sharply turned to the left, then to the right, weaving through passages that all looked the same to me while looking down at his navigator every few seconds, eyes scrunched and concentrated, almost unnervingly so.

Comparing to him, I was a joke.

I struggled to focus on the hallways and the environment, but that was always a problem for me. The environment didn't offer any interesting clues, something to be analyzed or to be solved for, and it caused my mind to wander. Those were my usual methods of escaping the thoughts, and particularly effective ones at that. They gave me something to be confident and happy about, which were powerful tools against combating the depression.

Now, though, I had nothing to do. No way to bring anything to the table and be useful, and I've made myself into a panicking mess.

 _Knew I should have taken my pills this morning._

"Okay, guys, SCP-173 is in front of us, but we need to go through the hallway. Please build one man rows and stand in a line behind one another. Think on those school trips where you were forced to pair up with someone you didn't like, except you're alone. Ulgrin and I will be the teachers making sure you don't die by doing something stupid, so really, just like a school trip. Anyways," Walker opened the door he was standing in front of.

There was a statue in front of them. I froze.

"You've got to be kidding me..." Marshall complained, and for the first time, I agreed on something with him.

"Ooohhh..." Keep it together, keep it together-

"Sunshine, keep it together!" _Yeah, what Ulgrin said!_

"Ah, screw it! Ulgrin, keep looking at it," Walker approached me anxiously and pressed the navigator in my hands.

"This special navigator has an in-built map of the facility inside of it, and it can detect SCPs. Get familiar with it. You're our navigator from now on." From Walker's reaction, it was clear that this was only temporary and an action born out of anxiousness towards something, or someone.

Still, I couldn't suppress the childish voice inside me that screamed in joy at having something to do. At being useful.

I saluted Walker, determination in the center of my being. "I won't fail you, boss! I'm gonna be the best navigator ever!"

Walker looked surprised. No, he looked like someone told him the Earth was flat and Australia was on the bottom side of the planet.

"Y-Yes, well... march on, soldier! Onward, without fear, brave souls!" Having found his element, he started goading us to go past SCP-173.

Seeing as I was first in line, my breath caught and I started feeling dizzy, but I pushed through it with raw willpower.

 _Walker trusted me! This navigator is the proof of it!_

With that, I quickly walked past the statue and made my way in the hallway.

 _I did it!_

"That's it, everyone. Let's go."

"Blinking." Ulgrin said.

"Gotcha. Okay," Walker said once everyone was on this side. "Ulgrin, if you don't mind looking at the statue in my stead..."

Walker then took out a piece of ribbon - where'd he get _that_ from? - and tied it around SCP-173's left hand, before going head to head with the creature and whispering something incomprehensibly.

"What are you doing!? This is no time for jokes!" Marshall said.

"It was... important." Was what Walker said. "Now, we run away. Chop chop! I'll make sure we aren't being followed. Ulgrin, go to the virus."

"The virus- ah, I get it. Sure. Everyone, follow me!" Ulgrin then started going, and I spared a concerned look for Walker.

In contrast to what Walker said, we were only walking fast, and not necessarily running. Ulgrin instructed Steve to make sure the doors were closed behind us, and I soon found myself tinkering with the navigator.

I observed us getting farther away from SCP-173. I observed how the hallways diverged and converged in seemingly random patterns, all the while making sure I paid enough attention not to get myself hit by something.

"Ulgrin, you're walking into a dead end." I informed.

"Ah... I must have mistaken myself. Let's go... this way!" Ulgrin said, and I got the sneaking suspicion he didn't know where we were going.

"Ulgrin, do you know where we are going?"

"What? Sure?"

I raised my eyebrow. "To SCP-008."

I looked at the navigator. "I'm not seeing that thing on here."

"Well, I know it's in this general direction..."

After a bit of wandering, I caught the signal of it.

"Ulgrin, why are you taking a right turn? You're supposed to take a left turn." Ulgrin stopped, looked at me - did I say something wrong? - and backtracked.

"You found it?" He asked.

"Yeah, it's on here."

"Then lead the way. If you see another SCP popping up around here, tell me."

"S-Sure..." I didn't _want_ to be in the front where all the scary things could pop right out at me.

"Sunshine the navigator, onward!" I said, mostly to myself, expertly going through hallways much the same way Walker did.

 _Wow, this feels amazing._

"You're really getting into it, huh?" Ulgrin asked.

"Why shouldn't I be? This is something for me to do, and now I'm not use-" Crap. Didn't wanna say that. "W-Well, I don't panic as much when I'm given something to do..."

Oh crud. What would he think now?

"Is that so..." His voice had an indescribably eerie tone to it, and it made me scared. "Well, Sunshine, I think you are going to have a _great_ time being our navigator, then!" Ulgrin said, and the forced joy in his voice had me concerned.

"Is... everything okay, Ulgrin?"

"Hmm? Y-Yes. Why should everything not be wrong?"

We stopped in front of SCP-008. Thankfully, it looked like some kind of disease and not something that's moving and could kill us.

"I think you got that saying wrong." Steve chipped in from the back.

"Also, _why_ are we in front of _this_ SCP of all things?" Marshall asked. "Is this truly necessary?"

"Yes, it is. This is the SCP preventing us from advancing to the next zone." Ulgrin said, ending all arguments against it."

"Though, we're going to have to wait, until-"

"Well, SCP-173 is going in the other direction, so I assume that Walker will be here soon enough." I finished the sentence for him.

"How come you were never this focused when _we_ worked together?" Marshall said to me, and I flinched.

"I- You- Eh..." What do I do? What do I say? I don't want him to shout at me again!

"Maybe you should stop pressuring her and let her work in her own element?" Ulgrin suggested.

"It's not my fault she doesn't have thick skin. She should just learn to deal with it instead of letting herself be affected like this. Honestly, it's embarrassin-"

Something inside me broke. I just couldn't take it anymore.

I saw red.

"YOU DON'T KNOW JACK SHIT ABOUT ME, SO YOU BETTER KEEP YOUR MOUTH FUCKING SHUT BEFORE I BITCHSLAP THE FAT OUT OF YOUR CHUBBY THIRD-RATE CHURCHILL FACE!"

My breathing was heavy and labored, but oh _goodness_ did that feel good.

Wait a second-

Did I just say that?

Did I _really_ just say that?

Judging from how everyone was shocked speechless and staring at me, yes I did.

I was about to apologize - until Ulgrin started laughing. It was a deep, bellowing laugh straight out of the stomach that left him bending over himself, and soon, another laughing voice joined.

Namely, one of Walker doubling over from where he entered the room.

"That - was - _gold_!" Ulgrin wheezed out from his laughing. "It hurts!"

"Chubby third rate Churchill face-"Walker choked out, before both broke into hysterical laughter once again.

At this point, Marshall was completely red, and positively seething with rage.

"Oooohh, haha, that is golden," Walker finally recovered. "You deserved that, Marshall, for those frankly stupid comments."

"Why- You..." Marshall looked fit to burst, and then he looked over to me. "You..."

"Eep!" I ran behind Ulgrin.

"Okay, okay, enough of this," Walker said, though I didn't miss his light grin as he was saying it. I don't think anyone did. "We all want to survive and some of us never want to see each other again, so let's do our damnedest to make sure that happens."

I spared a silent look at Steve and his tight, controlled expression, anxiously studying his reaction. After noticing my prodding gaze, his face slowly broke out in a small grin with twinkling, mischievous eyes before he hurriedly composed himself.

It renewed me with confidence.

"If you think I'm going to let this disrespect stand, then you have another thing coming!" Marshall practically _hissed_ at us, former friendly behavior long forgotten.

Walker's easygoing grin remained in place, but his eyes grew cold and serious. The instantaneous change caught me off guard.

"Then leave." Walker said. "No one is keeping you here."

"Maybe I _will_ leave!"

"Okay, okay, now this is all a bit much, isn't it?" Steve intervened. "Regardless of what we have going on here, we shouldn't separate. You said it yourself, Walker, that's practically a death sentence! Please, let's not do something we'll all regret doing."

"Hmm. Good point, Steve. Well, with that, we can-"

"I demand an apology from her."

"Eeh? N-No way!"

"- continue our mission, and not get detracted by unnecessary things that get us killed if we linger for too long, hmm?" Walker looked at Marshall, one eyebrow raised.

Without waiting for an answer, Walker clapped his hands loudly. " _Perfect!_ Now, this is how this is going to go. I'm going inside there, and _no one_ follows me. Ulgrin, you keep an eye out on any incoming SCPs-"

"You mean Sunshine."

There was a silent moment in which the two looked at one another, and I felt my anxiety bubble up.

"I trust her." Ulgrin simply said, and Walker accepted it.

"Now that I think about it, it's even better! Ulgrin, you make sure no one dies and _don't_ open the door. I'll go out on my own. Stay sharp, everyone."

With having his part being said, Walker opened the containment chamber.

SCP-173 was behind the door. Before I could even begin to panic, Walker already walked past the statue and closed the door in an instant.

I distracted myself by looking at the navigator.

"What does he think he's doing!?" Steve demanded.

"One of the things he does best. Throwing himself headfirst in danger and coming out unscathed. Remember that thing with the cockroach I said before?"

"Still, he can't be _that_ good. What guarantee do you have he'll actually come out of there alive?" Marshall questioned, though not without a hint of scorn in his voice.

"He stole my gun once and threatened an SCP with it. He bitch smacked another with a gas mask, one that kills you with a touch if I might add. Remember that bear he destroyed? There's another version of him in the facility, one made of ears. If it catches you in close range, it might as well kill you. The first thing I saw him do with that thing is kick it across a whole hallway, as if one might with a football."

Wide, disbelieving eyes looked at me.

Coincidentally, the door opened behind us.

"All done. Huh, that was easier than expected." Walker muttered the last part to himself, but Ulgrin and I could hear him since we were the closest to the door.

"And what of Billy?"

Billy? Who's Billy?

"He's not doing so fine. Limitless rage at the world and all of that. He doesn't want to see a shrink either, and I keep telling him all those negative emotions can't be healthy-"

"Ha ha. Can we keep the wise cracks for later? Preferably out of the facility."

Walker mockingly saluted. "Yessir!" Walker turned to me. "Any movement lately, soldier?"

"No... except SCP-173, but you already knew that." Walker kept looking at me.

"Sir!" I added hastily. He smiled lightly, before becoming serious once again.

"Okay, no time for idling around. Sunshine, with me. Ulgrin, keep at the back. Make sure we don't get any surprises."

"...Sure thing."

/* _Somewhere near_ */

Stealth was of utmost importance. No SCPs allowed either, which meant this was going to be a drag.

Oh well. No one said life was easy.

/*/

I tried not making my interest too apparent at Sunshine, who has proven to be _much_ more in control of herself once given the navigator.

"You know... I can't help but notice just how much more you've been focused ever since getting that navigator."

Sunshine looked uncomfortable. "Well, you gave me the job and trusted me with it. Of course I was going to do it."

"That... I'm not sure if it answers the question."

"Well, it's not exactly about the navigator... It's more about having responsibility, or something to shift your mind onto when it starts to wander. I- I don't like when my mind wanders. It brings-"

"Everything you want to forget about... your fears, anxiety, doubts, and the like?" I guessed.

"Yeah, exactly that..." She eyed me quizzically. "How'd you know?"

"It's pretty much the same for me." That caused her eyes to widen.

"What?"

"Y-You... have fears?"

 _What?_

My flat look caused her to backtrack. "No, I mean, Ulgrin was telling us about how badass you were, threatening an SCP-"

"Not my proudest moment."

"-bitchsmacking an SCP with a gas mask-"

"Ah, the good old classic."

"Kicking a teddy bear that could kill you-"

"Really, it's no big deal."

"-and you act like it isn't even anything special! I-I-I mean, look at me... I'm a stuttering, anxious mess. Most people don't like me because of it. But you, you're the spitting picture of confidence! It's like you have no fear at all!"

"Flattering, but incorrect."

"SCP-049 is coming to us from the left. We should go to the right."

"Yeah, that'd be our route either way. Good thing you said it." I raised my voice a bit. "Guys, we need to hurry up, pronto!"

I lengthened my stride a bit and sped up, but otherwise kept walking normally, trusting the others to copy the pace.

I continued speaking. "There are many things I fear, Sunshine. Like you, I fear idleness too, and what thoughts it brings with itself. And there are certain... circumstances with me that have made me this way."

"You mean, your previous containment breaches?"

Well... "In a way, yes."

"And I'd get a panic attack just from listening what you experienced."

I winced. That hit the nail pretty much on the spot. "Something like that. But that's experience in my case... not a lack of fear."

We came to the intersection. "Okay, school line, everyone. Go through to the entrance zone, one by one!"

I found a strange sort of amusement in looking at grown ups assembling into a line, walking as I made sure everyone got over safely.

Once we were all on the other side, I stood next to Ulgrin and clicked the headset after having it fastened on my head.

"Okay, we have a new plan from now on. I'm going to call the Command and talk a few things over."

"Things such as?" Steve questioned. Marshall looked like he detested our presence but would say nothing against us.

"Well, there's going to be special Foundation troops going inside the facility soon enough. I want them _not_ to be shooting our group on sight. That is, our group of one Agent Ulgrin, one D-9341, one Barrows, and one Marshall. We should be pretty recognizable. That and I want to establish our escape route." Steve looked more than a little confused.

I placed a finger on the headset. "Copy all of that, Command?"

"Loud and clear. I'll make sure the squads are informed. About the exit, well, you should-"

/* _Somewhere close..._ */

"-probably go to Gate A. SCP-682 is rampaging somewhere around Gate B, and we expect it to attempt to flee through there. We don't have control of the facility, but the gates themselves are connected to our own servers, so we can control them from here. Couldn't get the NTF squads in the facility otherwise."

"Gotcha. Thanks for the help."

"Wait! Before you go, we have something else that needs to be done. You need to disable the remote door controls. That'll give us more control of the facility."

"Sure, I'll take care of- OHSHITGOTTARUN!"

The line cut off, and I turned off the radio, putting it in a pocket.

Gate A, was it?

That explained _many_ things. Namely, how I haven't been able to escape from Gate B previously. How the facility exploded, or how the NTF squads shot me down.

Well, pondering about it wasn't going to bring me anything. It looked like I'd have to do this the old fashioned way.

John Cena grinned.

/*/

"Nothing like a good leg workout, am I right?" I wheezed out.

"Go die." Ulgrin said from his position on the floor, back against the wall of the electrical center.

"Not just yet, hopefully. Still..." I went to the small room in the back - no bodies nor blood, as it should be - and I turned the remote door controls off.

When I returned, there was an NTF squad there. Sunshine and Steve looked concerned, while Marshall looked relieved.

I waved. "Sup."

"D-9341. I see you have completed our mission for us."

"To be fair, it was given to me too."

"Hmm. I'm not complaining about you making my life easier. Now that we've found you, though, we have another mission. We are to safely guide you outside of the facility."

A part of me refused to believed it. It couldn't be so simple, there would be a catch, there always was.

I smiled. "Sure. Lead the way."

We walked down the hallways. I silently instructed Sunshine to keep an eye out on SCPs, yet my mind couldn't comprehend it.

"Go down this hallway and turn left, then a right. There, you will find the elevator. Make sure to inform Command you're going through, so they can open the door for you."

"Yeah. Thanks..." I said, though my mind was in another place completely.

This...

This was it?

I turned to look at Steve as I walked, the first one I've bonded with here.

Then there was Marshall, the insufferable, egoistic scientist who got himself killed. It was pure luck that he survived.

Sunshine was the next, and one that always seemed to mess things up due to her strong anxiety. Beneath that, though, there was an intelligent and headstrong woman not too unlike him.

Ulgrin, with whom I've bonded with so fast, whom I have went so far as to bring him back from the dead. A gruff man with dry humor, a steady rock in this maze of insanity.

Much more so than John Cena turned out to be. I was pretty conflicted about him. He helped a lot, and he was good company, but he was so convinced that I couldn't escape with the group. Many things surrounded him that I couldn't explain nor hope to understand. He was easily the most complicated of the bunch.

Well, I wasn't going to be seeing him again, and neither was I going to be wasting energy on thinking about that. In fact... I was thankful, in a way.

He gave me a partner.

I called command, and we soon entered the elevator. It closed, went up, and eventually opened, revealing a hallway leading out into the outside world through a containment chamber door.

It all seemed like a dream, even as we stood there, Ulgrin at my side.

The sky. Clouds.

The elevator opened behind us, but I ignored it just this once.

"Nice view, huh?" John said behind us.

My eyes widened, horror pooling in my guts.

In a flash, he shoved and grabbed for Ulgrin's weapon.

While that was happening, I spotted SCP-106 materializing.

All too soon, the dream shattered as John was standing in the middle of the hallway, safely positioned away from us with Ulgrin's weapon in hand.

"You actually did it..." John smiled. Was that _admiration_? "You madman, you actually did it. You managed to get out with them."

"W-W-What's going on?" Sunshine asked, voice trembling.

"I never believed, you know. In the Foundation, in our friends here... Guess that was why I was having such a hard time here."

"What are you trying to say?" Ulgrin said. He sounded as panicked as I felt.

"Well... I could go on and on, about everything that happened and more, but I don't have much time before the Old Man gets knocked out.."

John then looked straight at me, and my blood froze. It wasn't the previous look of rage that met my eyes, though.

"Remember this, Jimmy. Remember what I could have taken away from you right now." With those chilling words, John didn't shoot nor take his revenge, but turned to leave.

"Not Jimmy, nor John. It's... Benjamin Oliver Walker. That's our name."

John- No, Benjamin Oliver Walker froze. He let the weapon fall to the floor, breathing heavily.

"Thank you." And with that, he sprinted away in the chaos of the ensuing fight between SCP-106 and Foundation personnel, going down some stairs before disappearing out of view, some personnel breaking up and going after him.

"That could have went really bad." Ulgrin said.

"It almost feels like it should have." I whispered.

"Who in the blazes was that? Why did he look like you, Walker?" Steve questioned, but I ignored it all.

SCP-106 went back in its pocked dimension, and the soldiers approached us.

"Hey, did you see who that was? The Class D that escaped?"

"Yeah. I'll tell you all about it later. It's... a bit of a long story."

"If you say so. Well, follow us. Must have been a rough day for you all."

I laughed. "Oh, don't get me started..."

We slowly started walking outside the facility, and everyone was chattering. Sunshine and Steve with Ulgrin, Marshall with the NTF soldiers. I snorted. Still can't believe that _he_ survived of all people.

I, however, stayed silent and took special care in watching the clouds, the sky, the trees in the distance, and everything my eye could catch.

I... did it, didn't I?

This was it.

I escaped the facility.

* * *

 **AN:**

" **DustyOldAttic, where are the angelic choirs? SCP-682? Walker's harem army of Teddy Bear-Chans!? I'm starting to think this wasn't directed by Michael Bay! Also, this can't be the end, can it!?"**

 **Relax, random person that took the author notes of Chapter 1 a bit too literally. We still have the epilogue to cover, and you'll find out the individual reactions, situations, etc. things out then.  
**

 **Other than that, though... yeah. This really is the end. Our little Walker has finally grown and escaped the facility.**

 ***sniff* I'm so proud of him.**

 **And watch out watch out it's JOHN CENA! RKO on Ulgrin outta nowhere!**

 **Oh my, how _did_ he find his way back to this dimension? Why didn't he kill Walker, even after Walker killed him? Also, Sunshine did WHAT to Marshall?  
**

 **And what is this? Walker giving a ribbon to Billy. Are they engaged now?**

 **PlOt HoLeS!**

 **Totally. You sure got me.**

 **Next Chapter: 10th November, 2018**


	14. Chapter 14 - Epilogue

**EDIT (22nd November, 2018) - There is fanart for the story now! I'm putting it on as the cover image for the story.**

 **A big thank you to Magainita for deciding to put time and effort into making this happen - I love it!**

 **The picture can be found on deviantart . com** **/magainita/art/Loop-Zero-773477464**

 **Check it out, like it, fall in love with it and all the good stuff.**

* * *

 **AN: Oh boy. This week. This week's been a nightmare.**

 **So, I got in this accident. I won't go into too much details - partly because I'm embarrassed - but, through pure idiocy that was 100% avoidable, I got my head split open. By split open, I mean, a 6cm long and 4mm wide gash on my head that wouldn't stop bleeding for around 2 hours.**

 **Before you start worrying, though, everything is fine. I'm well on the way to recovery - besides writing this story, which probably goes against the "Stay still, don't strain yourself and stay completely relaxed" thing they told me.**

 **Not everything was perfect, though. Far from it. So, I'm laying there, and this doctor tells me they'll put anesthetics on me, wait around 15 minutes for them to start working so I feel no pain, then stitch my head together. Cool.**

 **10 minutes later, another doctor comes. He applies the anesthetics by piercing my head with a needle. Ouch.**

 **Then, almost immediately afterwards, he says "I am going to start stitching your head up. Don't move." He starts stitching, and I feel** _ **everything**_ **. Later, I concluded the guy just didn't wait for the anesthetic to start working. Then, just for good measure, he messes the stitches up and has to tear them off, and he literally slapped my head in the wound for seemingly no discernible reason - that was besides him roughly pounding my head with disinfection. Ugh.**

 **With this being the last chapter, though, I can't do much but grit my teeth and try and push it out. Hopefully, I'll cover everything and it'll be readable.**

* * *

"It seems some congratulations are in order, Walker. With your insight into Site-19's case and the subsequently available information inside we cross-referenced, your report has been verified. Thanks to you, we have captured the traitor, Skinner, before he could get away, not to mention the resources you've spared us." O5-01 smiled. "I believe I speak in the name of all of us when I say; Thank you."

I nodded. "All in a day's work." _Literally_. "Now, I'd like to discuss the details of my further employment with you, if that is okay... ?"

"Oh? Are you perhaps unsatisfied with your current position? I understand starting off as a Level 3 researcher doesn't provide the flexibility you are used to, but I assure you-"

I laughed, interrupting the man before he continued. "No, no, it's nothing about _that_. I'm quite content with that. In fact, I'm looking forward to working with another expert in my field. Dr, Xyank sounds like an interesting person at the very least."

"What is it then that you desire?"

Well, here it goes. "Agent Ulgrin and Sunshine Barrows. I'd like to have them working with me, as my bodyguard and assistant respectively-"

O5-01 waved a hand. "Done. Anything else?"

I stared. That was easy. I was a bit concerned that they didn't even think about asking the two if they wanted this, but that was okay in this case.

I talked it over with them beforehand, after all.

As for Steve, well...

/* _Flashback_ */

" _And what about you, Steve? Wanna join up with us?"_

 _He was shaking his head before I finished. "I think I'm done with this place once and for all. Had one too many bad experiences here, and I'd rather be lazy and in peace with my family than to risk never seeing 'em again. Well... it was nice getting to know y'all, even if it were for a few days."_

/* _Flashback end_ */

...he wasn't coming.

"No, sir. That's about it from me."

"Then you may leave."

And so I did.

/*/

"So?" I addressed my colleagues when the door closed, all similarly indescribable through the silhouettes broadcasted through the screens. They could not and were not willing to meet up in person. "What do you think of him?"

"He possesses a casual disrespect towards authority. This has not changed from the last time he was in front of us. We should proceed with caution in our dealings with him." O5-05 said. Soon others joined in, discussing chaotically.

"Yet the expertise cannot be denied. Walker's success rate for _that_ experiment was less than one percent... or so we thought."

"We absolutely need to have his memories back. The Spiral Gestalt could be an invaluable tool in our hands!"

"We can't trust him!"

"Perhaps not now, but..."

I've had enough. "Silence! We are not achieving anything by shouting over another. Now, about what we discussed earlier... and one at a time, please."

"Surely... it is madness, is it not?"

"Yet the circumstances are in his benefit. It won't hurt us to give him a chance."

"Returning back in time after death... it is a powerful ability, one that could be specifically suited for our needs. And it isn't plastered on a fool, but on what we learned to be an immensely gifted individual. Such a person among our ranks would be a major boon."

"I am not pleased with this... I assume we will account for every contingency, though, as we always have, in the case he rebels against us. Now, he is certainly not ready nor do we know him as well as we should..."

"Of course. Let us go over the formalities at the very least. Should we continue with this course of action or not? Please, cast your votes."

Three were against, all others for.

"It is decided, then. We shall observe Walker in his rehabilitation and monitor his progress. If he fails to meet our standards, we shall abandon the idea. If he performs, however... we might find ourselves with a new addition to the O5 Command."

/*/

"And where do you wish to be stationed, Dr. Marshall?"

"Anywhere but near Walker. The guy's a trouble magnet, I can feel it!"

"That can be arranged."

/*/

"Gramps!"

A little ball of energy slammed into me. "Woah there, lil' Jay, I just returned! What's all the fuss?"

"GRAMPS IS BACK!" The little girl shrieked across the house, most likely waking up her brother and startling the parents.

I chuckled.

"Where were you, gramps? I didn't see you in such a long time!" Jay asked.

"Grandpa had work to do, lil' Jay. But grandpa is back for good."

"Is that so?" Samantha said, coming from the kitchen to the entrance with her husband, Jason. "Good to see you, pops."

"Good to see you too, lil' squirt. How's the family going?"

"It's been rough lately, but we've been managing." Jason said. "How about you? I must admit, this is a welcome surprise, but didn't you want to work while you still could or something?"

"Yeah, but I've had some time to think. I'd rather spend my years being with my family rather than as a janitor."

"Yay, gramps is back!" / "Oh, what's the occasion?"

"Had a change of mind, you see."

Samantha's eyebrows furrowed in worry. "Did something happen?"

"Hah!" I laughed. "Not at all, unless I suddenly got senile. Everything is _just_ the way it was before... Got awfully homesick, though. That's why ol' grandpa is back in town, eh!"

"YAAAY!" / "Moooom, make her shut uuup!"

"Well, we're glad you're here sooner than later." Jason, ever the happy one, grinned. "We were just about to have breakfast. Come on, let's go for it while it's still hot."

I smiled fondly. It sure was good being back with the family.

"I think I'd like that."

/*/

"Class D, stop! This is an order!"

I ran down the stairs, ignoring the cries of the soldiers behind me. I went down the stairs, sprinting for my dear life.

I _just_ went in the right passage before the spot I was in a second before got blasted with bullets. I cursed, opening the only door available.

A tunnel. It'd have to do.

I closed the door on my way in, hoping to buy myself more time. My chest ached and my legs burned, but I still ran as fast as I could, before-

The world shifted.

In one moment, I was running through a damp, dimly lit hallway before I was dazed.

Through my blurry eyes and headache, I saw three soldiers whose details I couldn't ascertain - I turned, but there was one behind me too.

"You know too much to let them get you..." A deep, cool voice said. "You're coming with us."

/*/

"You tell an interesting story, Mr. Walker."

"Please. Call me Oliver."

"Ah, right. There is the original one, the one from this dimension. And what of him? He is currently in the possession of the Foundation. Do you think he could be... persuaded towards our goals?"

I shook my head. "No way. He's very much for the Foundation. I'm afraid there's no hope for recruiting him."

"And what of your relationship with him?"

"He shot me in the head the last time he saw me." A lie, but they wouldn't know. "Do I need to go on?"

"No need. That seems quite sufficient. I will be back shortly." The beefy bald man said, before he left the dull gray interrogation room, leaving me to my thoughts.

Namely, Walker. Or Benjamin as I liked to refer to him, since he _is_ the original one that belongs to this dimension.

Whereas before I thought of him with contempt and hate, not in the least for shooting me - this was slowly, but steadily broken down by ever growing incredulity and, eventually, admiration.

Because I remember them, and I've been at it for far longer than Benjamin has. I've lived through many, many loops where I tried to save Sunshine, Steve, sometimes even Marshall...

Never Ulgrin, though. _Never_ the Foundation.

I hate them. I hate the Foundation. It is because of them that I was stuck there, that, no matter how far I got, I couldn't escape. After the SCPs, the biggest and insurmountable obstacle was the Foundation with their soldiers, video cameras and nuclear warheads. The looping hallway was an idea born out of manic desperation, and it took many, many of the hallways for me to reach this place.

Seven hundred eighty five, to be exact. That, I personally counted later, when I separated from Benjamin and his - then with all members alive - group.

Ah - Benjamin. What a first impression he left on me.

My exact likeness, staring me down like a fish - with two _very_ dangerous teddy bears on his legs.

It took a lot of effort for me not to run away in the first place, but then it became obvious he also distrusted the bears. Together, we ran away from them.

I was delighted. A partner, one that might understand me and my plights? One whom I could trust, because he was _me_?

That turned out to be a mistake. There were _many_ differences between us - ones that I couldn't understand at first.

Such as his desire to save his friends. How could he, I thought, if _I_ hadn't managed it? It was a fool's effort, and I left it to him. He would have understood once they died.

But then, Agent Ulgrin was with him. And Benjamin somehow knew how to shut SCP-106 down - it made no sense to me. How!?

How has he been able to figure out this which I never did?

But that wasn't the crux of the problem. In my own dimension, I almost escaped much the same way I did here - when the soldiers were distracted by SCP-106. This, I didn't do in my own dimension.

Soon, after SCP-106 was defeated, I was shot dead. That was, coincidentally, the moment I snapped and went to the looped hallway.

But Benjamin wanted to contain SCP-106, and doom us all - or so I thought. I refused to stand for this, and my blood boiled with rage.

I wanted to get out, and this fool couldn't understand that what he was doing was useless!?

I decided to take matters into my own hands. I sicced SCP-035 on them - it didn't work. The NTF were even in the electrical center!

I didn't want to have to kill them, but there was no other choice. Not to mention that the NTF were not only not shooting Benjamin, but directly helping him.

I needed answers.

Hence our encounter in the cafeteria. Shooting Ulgrin wasn't a problem; he would die anyways, and I just wanted answers.

Perhaps I didn't handle that situation in the best way, though. The goal was to get answers, yet I let my emotions do all the work.

I did get answers in the end, though. Benjamin was working with the Foundation.

That explained _some_ things, yet I only had more questions in the end. How did he manage to set up a deal between himself and the Foundation - what does he possibly have to offer?

This, I ventured to find out. I assumed they must be communicating through a radio of some kind, so I put one I found in SCP-914 and upgraded it.

The result was... interesting. The deal, as I learned it, was to have him tell them about the containment breach, and they are to pardon him.

I didn't know what to think of this. Surely, it wouldn't work?

Yet, as I was following them, taking extra care in not being seen, they were doing it. Step by step, I had to acknowledge the reality that Benjamin could, and eventually had, saved them.

Which was really the basis of me separating from them, shooting Ulgrin, and a manner of other things on top of that, things which made my 'rebellious' phase seem childish and ignorant as a result. Instead of dealing with the problem directly, by trying to power through it, Benjamin adapted, thinking outside of the box to turn his greatest problems into his greatest allies.

As a true scientist should, I thought.

I was no child, though, and I was prepared to accept that I have - maybe, perhaps, perchance - fucked up a little. And by little, I mean a great deal.

I doubted he'd have me explain myself in front of him, though. Not at that time, when they were so close - and I shot him around the same time last loop, too.

So I took Ulgrin's gun, more because of the possibility that _they_ would shoot me.

And then I learned my name. Now _that_ was shocking.

Which brings me to the present moment.

The door opened, bringing me out of my reminiscing of yesterday's - _heh_ \- events.

I waited patiently until the bald man sat down, looking at me with a neutral face.

"After some consideration, we have reached a consensus. We believe your talents could be put to great use for our cause." The expression morphed into a friendly one. "Personally, I think you have quite the potential. You'll do great around here, I just have a feeling." The man stood up, offering me his hand."Well, well! It seems congratulations are in order."

I stood up, and we shook hands.

"Welcome to the Chaos Insurgency."

/*/

I ran out of the hallway, trusting the others - or at least Ulgrin - to pick up the cue for us to meet up in front of SCP-914. I ran to the right, hoping to lose the Plague Doctor at the intersection.

Which is exactly what happened, in the end. I spared a nervous look at the open door from the opened intersection, but since there appeared to be nothing there I turned to look at Teddy-

Something touched my back. Before I could react in shock, various thoughts assaulted my mind. Intense feelings of bitterness and rage at the world seeped in me, directed at everyone and everything around me. Life lost its purpose, but if only I could find those who trapped me in here, I would have a purpose once again, I would revel at the sound of the _crunch_ -

I stepped back in fear, turning around to see-

"HOLY SHIT!" Billy. Why was Billy here? Why was he touching my back?

What the hell just happened?

Most of all, though...

"...Why not kill me?" I asked, half expecting a sound to pop up in my head again. Wait...

I hesitantly placed my hand on Billy's chest.

 _Human knows pain. Human knows suffering. Human live, to suffer more when friends die._

"Oh, that's just perfect..." So Billy was letting me live because he wanted to make me suffer more.

 _Human show compassion before. I saw world through human eyes, one who suffers and suffers, like me. You saw world through my eyes, too. We are similar. Human will live to die another time - not from me._

The thoughts arising in my head were disjointed and ethereal, but I think I got the general message. Billy refuses to kill me out of a twisted sense of sympathy, or did it want me to live with the suffering?

I removed my hand before an answer could come through. In my anger, hatred and confusion, I ran away.

After I was finally free to return to the others, my emotions stabilized, and I was more or less back as I was, though no less nervous.

That could have - should have - ended badly. It didn't, though, and I learned something new.

I could communicate with someone if I was touching them. Or, that was the hypothesis at the very least, but I at least could assume where it came from.

It was the Spiral Gestalt. It had to be, there existed nothing else that affected me this way. Was this an unintended side effect? Just how did returning back in time after death correlate with a mind connection of sorts?

Now that I focused on it, there was a presence in my head. One that I could open and expand, or keep locked down, monitor and prod with my mind, but it did nothing out of itself.

This required further experimenting with.

And, as a certain teddy bear waddled up to stand in front of me, I couldn't just throw away this opportunity, could I?

Oh, he was offering me a ribbon of sorts? There was crude handwriting on it.

"Friends?" I read aloud, and it nodded.

I grinned. I think I had _just_ the right thing in mind for this scenario.

/* _Later..._ */

"Ulgrin, if you don't mind looking at the statue in my stead..."

I took out the piece of fabric that Teddy has given me, recalling my experience talking with it. The more I expanded my mind, the easier it was to communicate, but it was also easier for the other to ascertain your true intentions. It was tricky, but I managed to convince Teddy either way.

That was neither here nor now, though. I opened my mind as wide as I possibly could. My vision blurred and my head was pulsating, but I tied the ribbon on one of Billy's hands. Out of sight from the others, I placed a hand on Billy and _pushed_.

Not physically, but rather with my mind. Everything good that I knew, that I was, that I loved, that I aspired for, that I lived through for the sake of others, I pushed into Billy.

"You let me live, so I leave you with all of this." _Love, happiness, friendship, good memories, moments of suffering for good causes, joyful moments... I give them all to you. So you may learn to love as well as hate._

"What are you doing!? This is no time for jokes!"

Suddenly, the large presence of my mind shrank into a tiny, almost nonexistent one, and I felt overwhelmed. It was as if I overused the muscle - like trying to run a marathon without a single day of practice.

"It was... important." I forced out in as casual a tone as I could muster. "Now, we run away. Chop chop! I'll make sure we aren't being followed. Ulgrin, go to the virus."

"The virus- ah, I get it. Sure. Everyone, follow me!"

The moment the door closed, I collapsed on the floor, blankly staring at the ceiling.

"That took a lot out of me..." And, oh boy, if the others would see him now, they would go crazy.

I laid there for a moment longer, closing my eyes for a minute or so, before opening them again.

Standing up, I saw Billy, simply standing there. I placed a hand on him.

"OW!" Searing pain laced through the front of my head, where I felt the presence to be, and I removed the hand instantly.

For a split second, though, I felt shock, surprise... gratefulness.

"You're welcome." I said hesitantly, not even sure if that was the right response, nor what was going on, exactly. This was a truly alien creature if I compared it to human standards, so I wasn't exactly sure what was going on, but I did know it was... good?

There weren't more precise words I could find. It was good, in a sense.

"I need to go now. But... just remember this... sometimes, the answer is in love rather than in hate. Goodbye..."

And so I walked away from the most unlikely companion I've made in this containment breach.

Billy - SCP-173 - watched me leave with my back turned.

Pondering about what just happened, I walked slowly towards SCP-008's containment chamber.

And, oh boy, was it an interesting sight that greeted me when I found myself in front of it.

\- _The Present... -_

Stepping out of the conference room, I turned to the left, trying to remember the way to the elevator

The polished, white hallways with pictures and plants and lots of helpful sign really were a contrast to Site 19, if only because I found my way relatively fast to the elevator. Luckily, the horrendous architecture of Site 19 seemed to be a one time thing. Really, the organization of this building alone was a luxury and a half - just why would they replace it with that... that monstrosity!

I shuddered.

The elevator doors opened, and I recalled what Ulgrin, Sunshine and I agreed to. Namely, to meet up at the Cafeteria.

I hesitated, looking at the vast amounts of people on the ground floor. Adrenaline surged through my body, but I forced myself to remain calm, to not freak out-

Something brushed against my shoulder.

My eyes widened.

 _Humanoid hand, no gas mask, breathing - SCP-966._

I immediately turned, shoving it with all my might. SCP-966 was physically weak, and they never expect physical retaliation from human's that shouldn't know its presence-

"What the actual hell, man!?" The SC- No, human, with brown hair and brown eyes, around early-to-mid 20's, stared up at me from where I've pushed him. I looked around me, and everyone was staring at me, some obviously ready to intervene.

"Uh..." I stared at the man, then at the people, not knowing what to do.

"Hey, what is going on here- Jonathan? Hey, punk, just what do you think you're doing with my brother?" An arm grabbed my shoulder, but this time I didn't react aggressively and let myself be turned around.

Short and spiky brown hair. Yellow-brownish eyes stilled upon looking at me, then at the person on the ground, then at me."Walker?"

I winced, looking away. "Hey there, Ulgrin... So this is your brother, huh? Small world..."

Seeing that we all knew each other, the crowd started to look away and disperse, though some still watched, likely out of curiosity.

The brother - Jonathan - slowly stood up, looking at Ulgrin. "Wait, hold on a second... You know this guy?"

"Yeah, he's the guy I was telling you about. Cool dude, eh?"

"He pushed me on the floor!" Ulgrin looked at me, one eyebrow raised.

"He, uh... brushed against my shoulder!"

I winced, looking away again from Ulgrin's deadpan stare and crossed arms. Was this Ulgrin's secret weapon? For someone who wore a mask so much, he was _really_ good at expressing complex emotions with his face alone.

 _I'm not sure what's going on here, but it's probably your fault and you should apologize for it_ , his expression seemed to say.

I turned to Jonathan. "Uh... Sorry for pushing you on the ground. I'm a bit paranoid, so I assumed the worst when you touched me. It was an instinct, nothing more."

Jonathan pointed a finger at me. "Just what kind of an idiot do you take me for? Shoving me with your whole body weight was _instinct_ for you?"

...Okay, this kid was getting on my nerves. "You know," I said coolly, "I could have done far worse things to you than just shove you. I can be _very_ creative when it comes to dealing with potential threats."

Jonathan looked like one of those jocks - the kind of people who had to assert their dominance, who didn't let things go easily.

Yet, as Ulgrin's face flinched and turned away from me, the action didn't go unnoticed by Jonathan. He turned to Ulgrin insecurely, and then to me.

"Uhh... Yeah, no problem, dude! Water under the bridge, hehehe..."

...

Was something wrong? The kid looked and sounded positively scared, a very big contrast to before-

"Walker?" Ulgrin coughed, looking at me. "You're doing the intimidating face thing."

 _Oh, that's why_.

I softened my facial muscles, taking a deep breath.

' _Breathe in the light, and breathe out the darkness.'_

"ULGRIIIIN!" A feminine voice shouted behind us, drawing attention to both us and the female. "Did you find Walker yet? He was supposed to be here ten minutes ago!"

White dress with red flowers sprinkled on it. Sandals. A straw hat, blonde hair, and one _very_ loud Sunshine.

Though, I had to admit privately, she looked _good_. She rocked that outfit, though it made me wonder - why wear _that_?

Well, I guess it was summer.

"Oh, there you are!" Sunshine stepped in front of us, pouting at me. " _What_ were you doing, leaving a lady to wait like that?"

"I- uh-"

"Whatever, I found you now. Oh, hey there, Jon!"

"Hi..." Jonathan waved awkwardly, but Sunshine already turned to me.

"Well, can we go now?" Sunshine demanded impatiently.

"S-Sure, you guys can go. Ah, now I remember, I had this, eh, thing I got to do. I'll catch up with you later, Ulgrin." Jonathan stammered out an excuse and turned around, walking as fast as he could without directly running away.

I turned to Ulgrin. "I think I made a good impression on him."

Ulgrin snorted, ignoring me. "We should go somewhere else. People are staring at us." And indeed, people were, mostly from the small cafeteria to the left. "Follow me, I know a good place."

/*/

It _was_ a good place, all things considered. It was a nice, secluded spot behind the lone building in the area, looking down to a grassy landscape. There were no clouds in sight and the sun shined, making the place feel more alive.

We sat ourselves on the bench, Ulgrin in the middle with me to his left and Sunshine to his right.

"You know, you really scared my brother. He likes to play tough, but I've never seen him run away from someone like that."

I raised my eyebrow. "Huh. Didn't think I was so intimidating."

"You're not the one seeing your expression - oh, wait. John. Did he ever do that thing you do with the face?"

I winced, recalling the expression. "Yeah, I get what you mean..."

"This John... That's the guy who looks just like you, right?" Sunshine asked.

"Right... The me from another dimension. I still can't wrap my head around him... or why he didn't shoot us."

"That reminds me." Ulgrin said. "How did it go? Can we go with you?" Both of them perked up, looking at me attentively.

I smiled, and that was already enough for Sunshine, because she broke into giggles. "Yeah. It was strange, though. They didn't even care to ask you what you thought, they just accepted it."

Ulgrin snorted. "Assholes."

"I gotta ask though... Sunshine. Why decide to go with us?" I asked. From what I would think, she would take the first flight away from us and try to erase our existence from her mind.

"Well... you know, I came in the Foundation because I wanted excitement and something new. And, well, you know... to overcome my anxiety problems..."

There was a tense silence between us, one that made it all the more apparent as to what we were doing. We were going through the motions, but we weren't really over it, over from what happened. Each and every single one of us carried those burdens now and had to deal with them, but that was also why we met up and talked so much. If we were alone, we would sulk in gloom and doom, but together, at least we could pretend.

"But, you know, past the shock of everything that's happened and all... it's like, you're good company, and everyone else just can't... ugh, why is it so hard to explain!?"

"Maybe because no one went through what we did, and you wouldn't be able to really connect with them?" I supplied.

Sunshine wrinkled her nose. "Yeah, something like that. Plus, you guys are so interesting! Time travel and all-"

"Except you don't know about that." Ulgrin winked conspiratorially. "Neither do I, and I can't loop too."

"Yeah, that." Sunshine snorted. Her voice was timid when she spoke next. "I have nightmares. I sometimes think there are people following me, or that a monster is going to pop right out of the corner. But I guess you guys have it worse."

"Pain is still pain, no matter in what form it appears as. It shouldn't be belittled by anyone." I said.

"Well put. Though let's put the depressive shit behind us, we're supposed to be enjoying our mini-holiday." Ulgrin said, and pulled something out of his pocket.

Three bottles of sun cream.

"Sun cream is supposed to let us do that?" I asked, and Ulgrin grinned.

"Yeah, try it. I hear it's good this time of the year." Ulgrin opened one and drank from it.

Sunshine and I stared at Ulgrin, who sighed blissfully after drinking. "Aaah, that hits the spot!"

He gave us one bottle each. "Come on, try it."

Hesitantly, I popped the bottle open, and, seeing Ulgrin take a sip from his own, I did as well.

"Alcohol... seriously, Ulgrin? There's a no alcohol rule around here, didn't you know?"

"What? _You're_ sticking up for the rules? _You?_ Mr. Breaks-literally-every-rule-available?"

I took another sip. "Don't misunderstand. We might get caught is what I'm saying."

Ulgrin waved a hand. "Ah, whatever. I don't care."

"It's... weird." Sunshine said. "It tastes bad, but I can't stop drinking it."

"Congratulations." Ulgrin laughed. "You are starting to get addicted to alcohol. It's only a matter of time now."

Sunshine's eyes widened. "Oh, noooo! That's so sad. Guess I'll drink some more to feel better about it..."

We all laughed, before descending in a semi-comfortable silence. We just looked at the landscape, and at the sky, relaxing in our seats.

"It's... really over, huh." I finally said, and the others looked at me. "No more Site 19, no more craziness..."

"It was a long time for you there, right?" Ulgrin said softly.

"Yeah... I'm always so surprised when I wake up. I expect to be back in the Foundation, but I'm here instead."

"So... what now?" Sunshine asked.

"What now?" I thought about it. "Well... we go do whatever I've been assigned to do, you guys help me, and we see how it all goes from there... But for now, we're all in for resting duty. I don't know about you guys, but I didn't exactly ace my psychiatric evaluation... So that's going to be my - our - life in the short-term."

"Seems legit." Ulgrin said, and there was silence once again.

I thought about everything that happened. All my various deaths, mental breakdowns, the people I've met, my life as Viktor Friedhelm, all those things and more - all of which happened, technically, in a single day.

Yet I found, with some astonishment, that I didn't regret it all in the end. I ended up making two great friends - Steve, I would never see again nor does he remember us - and getting my freedom back, going from a Class D to a Level 3 researcher.

All in a day's work as I said earlier.

And now there was a future in front of me. Not a perfect or bright one, by any means. I still dreaded to think what would happen if the O5 found out they could replicate the Spiral Gestalt, or that Ulgrin can loop now, or that I said this all to Ulgrin and Sunshine.

Still, I was - in a sense - free. And that was all I could ask for, really.

"A toast!" Ulgrin exclaimed suddenly. "A toast to one Benjamin Oliver Walker, without whom we would never have been here, acquaintanced and alive, most likely. Let us drink in his honor!"

"You're just looking for an excuse to drink more." I said, though I couldn't help but grin at Ulgrin's antics.

Ulgrin waved his free hand. "Nonsense. Raise your glasses, ladies and germs." Ulgrin raised his bottle, and so did Sunshine.

I got up from the chair, knelt down so we formed a triangle, and we clinked our sun cream bottles, as if on a grandiose feast.

"For Walker!" Ulgrin and Sunshine exclaimed.

I grinned. "For Walker, that devilishly handsome individual."

And so we drank, laughing like idiots and enjoying ourselves, despite everything.

* * *

 **THE END**

 **AN:**

 **Well, this is it.**

 **I wanted to exemplify the** _ **normalcy**_ **of the situation from Ulgrin, Sunshine, and Walker. There are no more monsters, no more dangerous life or death situations, and they're just kinda left there.**

 **Per standard of Walker and Ulgrin, they break the rules. We also get a small glimpse of the psychological problems and traumas left behind by the containment breach.**

 **Oliver ends up in the Chaos Insurgency, Steve goes back to his family - with amnestics applied to him + Marshall wanting to go anywhere but where Walker is.**

 **I really hope this ending is good enough/satisfactory.**

 **...But, oh boy, what a trip it has been until here.**

 **This all started because I was bored, saw the chapter I had written up, and decided to post it with a weekly upload schedule.**

 **Suddenly, I found this whole new thing to do - I had to do research, play the actual game, and try to keep the story interesting, on top of my other responsibilities.**

 **To be completely honest, I did expect the story to grow, if only because it had decent enough writing, an actual plot and weekly uploads.**

 **What I** _ **didn't**_ **expect, though, was to have people respond so enthusiastically to the story. Obviously, the story is not perfect, and I know this intimately - being the one who wrote it and all.**

 **Still, it's a bit surreal when I read the reviews - Seriously, Jarsdel, you'd even read a My Little Pony fanfiction from me!? That's a bit much, don't you think?**

 **About future fanfictions from me, though. At first, there was no plan for anything else at all. Make this story, exercise my writing, and get out. Simple.**

 **But then again, seeing so much support and liking of what I do here has made me change my mind. So, you** _ **will**_ **get something from me, though I'm not sure** _ **what**_ **, exactly.**

 **It won't be an SCP story, though. This is because it would go in a similar genre, and I would end up following similar tropes and situations.**

 **In contrast, I'd rather write something that focuses more on adventure/character development with friendships & romance, since this is something that I've never written about, and it would be an interesting experiment.**

 **It could be anything, though I'll generally try and keep away from stories with too many good ones already - RWBY, for instance.**

 **The direction I'm thinking of that fits what I want is Steven Universe, for example, since that fits the setting I'm thinking of very well. There is also Persona 5, the Witcher series, Nuclear Throne, Coraline, etc... So when I say it could be anything, I** _ **literally**_ **mean anything.**

 **Regardless of what it is, there is also a very good chance that I might approach it from a purely AU perspective.**

 **Before all of that, though, I'll be on hiatus for around a month, just to take a small rest and decide everything. Hopefully, I'll have a general idea around New Years'.**

 **That is all in the future, though.**

 **For now, I thank you all. For reading my story, telling me what I did wrong in rare cases (Really, it helps both me and you when you tell me what I did wrong!), and for leaving such heartwarming reviews.**

 **I hope you enjoyed Loop: Zero.**

 **EDIT (11. November 2018):**

 **It seems I haven't been clear enough in my author notes. I said _next_ story won't be an SCP one, since I want to try something different.**

 **About the _next_ SCP story, though... Well well, I wonder what it could possibly be? :)**

 **On a completely random note, the AU's official name is the 'Zeroverse' from now on.**


End file.
